My Weakness, My Strength
by BlueSky509
Summary: After a raid on Macbeth,the Star Fox Team takes on a new temporary member: Rykah.Will Falco lose his reputation as a lone wolf?Contains Falco/OC.Romance story.
1. Discovery

**A/N: Usually, I write for Cats, but I decided to try something different. I hope you enjoy my first attempt at a Star Fox fic. Sorry if some characters are a little OOC, I don't know them very well yet. The timeline takes place a couple of weeks after Star Fox Adventures, and Krystal obviously stays with the team. Also, any Cerinian talk between Krystal and another character will be in English. Enjoy!**

"Fox! Cover me!" Krystal shouted at the brown vulpine as she dashed ahead, but only to hide behind another large boulder. Lasers from the enemy's guns whizzed by overhead, and the constant explosions from grenades made it harder to get her message across.

The Star Fox Team had been called in to liberate a base on Macbeth, which was overrun by Andross' minions. Andross had been destroyed once again, but that didn't mean his goons were as well. They were still trying to cause havoc in the Lylat System, and they had managed to rebuild one of their bases on the barren planet. However, this was just your average, hastily-built military base that shouldn't be too hard to take out. The Star Fox Team had obliterated most of their air defence on their way in, and now Fox, Krystal, and Falco had left their Arwings behind to finish the job on foot. Peppy and Slippy provided air support for their teammates on the ground, droppings bombs and shooting down sentry towers with excellent accuracy. The enemy was resisting quite well, and this was a decent battle in Fox's mind. He had missed this kind of action in the past couple of weeks.

Fox sprayed ammo from his blaster to keep the enemy at bay, just as Krystal had instructed him to. He had taught the sapphire vixen to use a proper gun, and she proved to be an excellent shot in target practise. She refused to leave her staff behind, though. He could see the shiny tip of it protruding from her pack. Fox checked behind him to see that his best friend Falco was only a few feet away, blasting the enemies to his heart's content. The blue falcon had aided Fox in killing Andross and decided to stay for good afterwards. Fox was more than happy to have his best buddy back, fighting alongside him. It was just like old times…

The trio was getting closer to the base with each passing second. The enemy was retaliating more and more, which only added to Fox's excitement. It was less than a hundred yards now, and if they could keep up the pace like this, the base would be theirs in no time. The Star Fox Team leader rolled out of the way as a bomb exploded about fifty metres to his left, sending up a giant wall of dirt and shrapnel. Not a second after, a spray of lasers was flying towards him. Fox ducked to avoid them, and shot in that direction to incapacitate the enemy. An exchange of fire ensued and after a few shots, the lasers from the enemy ceased. The brown vulpine continued, scanning the landscape for his next victim.

"Fox! On your left!" Fox heard Falco warn from behind. He glanced in the appropriate direction to see an automatic, remotely controlled machine gun pointed at him. He easily destroyed it, but not before it fired a few rounds. A pained cry was heard behind him, and Fox turned around to see Falco stumbling over, clutching his left wing.

Fox hurried over to his friend and caught him just as he was about to crash into the ground. "You okay, buddy?" He asked the blue falcon, gravely concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." Falco replied, gritting his teeth. He lifted his right wing to reveal a bleeding left one. Thankfully, only one bullet had penetrated his wing. Falco examined the wound and scoffed. "That's it? Just one measly bullet? Lemme at those bastards!" He laughed somewhat in relief as he got up and started running again.

"Falco, you're hurt! Get Slippy to pick you up!" The brown vulpine called after the falcon. Falco was already out of earshot, back in action. He was using only one wing with his blaster instead of two, though.

The earpiece Fox was wearing buzzed and Krystal's voice crackled in his ear, "Where are you, Fox? I heard Falco scream, but he's catching up. What happened?"

The brown vulpine pressed the button beside his earpiece and hastily answered, "Falco got shot, but it's not too bad. He'll be okay. I'm coming, don't worry. Just stay put until we both get there." He took hold of his gun again and resumed mowing down enemies. Before he knew it, he caught up with the blue vixen and their injured comrade. Falco looked as alert as ever, but his left wing was now dripping blood. Fox turned to the avian with a furrowed brow. "You sure you don't want to go back up to the Great Fox?" He questioned seriously.

Falco shook his head and then glanced at Krystal. She appeared to be in some sort of trance. Her two teammates waited impatiently for her to come out of it, and fired a few shots from the rubble they were currently crouching behind. When the sapphire vixen returned to normal she informed her friends, "There are some prisoners inside that base. Apparently one of them is telepathic, like me." She pressed the button on her headpiece and informed Peppy and Slippy above them "Change of plans, boys! Don't blow up the base! There are innocents in there!"

Kystal got a quick confirmation from their air support and the trio continued firing away at what remained of Andross' minions in the area. After another half hour, the sound of bullets and lasers that were previously firing at them went silent, and both Peppy and Slippy radioed in that they couldn't see any more enemies. The remotely controlled weapons were all destroyed, now smoking skeletons of metal. The trio on the ground advanced, keeping their weapons cocked in case of any surprise attacks. Fox blew open the doors of the base with a grenade and the three cautiously stepped inside. Once the smoke cleared, it was obvious there were more enemies inside the base. Three of them lay dead on the ground, killed by the grenade blast.

A few more popped out from around the corner and they were quickly mowed down, too. Fox, Krystal, and Falco slowly walked along the corridors of the base, killing any foe they came in contact with. Krystal lead the party, guiding the group towards the source of the mental distress call she had received earlier. It appeared that the further they went into the base, the more enemies there were. It was clear they were trying to protect something of value in here.

At one point, the enemies stopped trying to attack. It seemed they had retreated deep into the base. Fox had a bad feeling about this and kept the team on high alert. Krystal suddenly gasped and broke into a run. "What's wrong, Krystal?" Fox called after his teammate, but the distant sound of gunshots, immediately followed by screams of terror and agony, answered his question. The enemies were murdering all the prisoners so they'll destroy the potential leak in information. The brown vulpine and Falco sprinted after their comrade, skidding around corners as she led them to the prison cells using her mental guide.

The gunshots and screams were getting louder with every step. Soon the team came upon the prisoners they were looking for. Andross' minions were opening every cell and firing into it, killing whoever was inside. Judging by the number of open doors, they were on the last one. Krystal shot the enemies with her blaster, as did Fox and Falco. They were dead within seconds. The air was deathly quiet. Krystal pricked her ears and edged closer to the only remaining closed cell, carefully stepping around the expanding pools of blood. She busted the lock with a single blast and let the heavy metal door swing open. The sound of whimpering immediately sounded from the pitch-black cell and the vixen made soothing sounds to calm the prisoner inside.

Fox held his gun at the ready, just in case the prisoner tried anything suspicious. He heard sudden heavy breathing behind him and whipped around, thinking a rogue enemy had snuck up on them. It only turned out to be Falco, drenched in sweat and blood from the battle, leaning against the wall for support. "You don't look so good, Falco…" Fox stated the obvious in a worried tone.

The blue falcon smirked, but it quickly faded and was replaced by a wince. "That wound's taking its toll on me. That and I've never seen so many dead bodies in one place. Sure, I've shot down a hell of a lot of baddies, but I've never seen freshly dead civilians right in front of me." He panted, and then fell to his knees. Before Fox could help him up again, he was already lying on the floor unconscious.

At the same time, Krystal was escorting a very frightened and distressed female falcon out of her cell. The sapphire fox's eyes grew wide at her unconscious friend. "What happened to him?" She asked in concern. The freed prisoner hid behind her rescuer and let out another whimper.

"He passed out from exhaustion and blood loss. I'll get him out of here." Fox explained as he hoisted Falco over one shoulder. He smiled tiredly at their new companion and introduced himself, "Hello there, I'm Fox McCloud, leader of the Star Fox Team. We're here to rescue you. What's your name?"

The female falcon vigorously shook her head and made a frightened squeak as she ducked behind Krystal's shoulder. The blue vixen smiled good-naturedly and replied, "She told me her name is Rykah. I just figured out she doesn't speak English very well, but she understands it decently. She speaks my language and is a telepath, too. Turns out she was from a planet not far from mine, but it got destroyed by Andross as well. Our planets used to trade together."

Rykah mumbled something in Cerinian, but Fox merely cocked his head. "Umm…What?" He uttered dumbly. He radioed Slippy. "Hey Slip, is that translator you made for me still functional? I think we're going to need it." He said into his earpiece.

The earpiece made its usual crackling sound and the frog answered confidently, "It's still working like a gem, why? Is it not working for you?"

Fox was about to say that it wasn't, but Krystal's giggling interrupted him. He threw a confused look at her. "What's so funny?"

The blue vixen calmed down to answer bemusedly, "You silly fox, Slippy made that translator for _Dinosaur Talk_, not Cerinian! I'd be more than happy to be a living translator, though. Rykah said she's very grateful that you rescued her. Anything else, Rykah?" Krystal glanced over her shoulder at the avian, who was now less scared. She whispered something else and Krystal translated, "She also says that she would like to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's get back to the Great Fox!" The leader of the Star Fox Team broke into a quick jog, despite his burden. Krystal and Rykah weren't far behind, and they were conversing in Cerinian all the while as they made their way out of the base. Once they were at a safe distance, Fox radioed to Slippy and Peppy above, "Alright, light it up guys! We're out of the way!" A few seconds later, the two Arwings belonging to said teammates flew low overhead and dropped bombs on the base. It exploded into an inferno and they made another pass, essentially obliterating the building. Fox, Krystal, Falco, and Rykah hastily jogged over to where the Great Fox had landed, and soon they were leaving Macbeth behind. Slippy and Peppy had docked their Arwings and had rejoined the rest of the team in the command room. Fox had brought Falco over to the infirmary, so that left Krystal to tell the story to Peppy and Slippy.

Afterwards, Krystal had found an empty room for Rykah to stay in until they could get back to Corneria, where the government could provide further assistance for her. As the falcon gazed about the room in awe, Krystal couldn't help but giggle. The room wasn't very big. It was like all the quarters on the Great Fox: cramped and furnished with the bare necessities. There was a simple bed on one side, a mirror and closet on either side of it, and a small desk situated in the opposite corner. A telecom that was connected to the command room was on the wall next to the desk.

"Wow, your previous room must have been terrible if you think this is a luxurious living space!" The blue vixen joked in her native language. She watched Rykah inspect herself in the mirror.

The female falcon turned around with a serious glare. "Don't remind me of that horrid place. I was kept in that cell for months before you and your team arrived." She said sharply in the same tongue.

Krystal put her hands up in surrender and Rykah resumed looking at herself in the reflective glass. The blue fox truly observed her new friend's state for the first time since the avian arrived. She was wearing tattered clothing that looked like nothing more than rags, and her feathers were so filthy that she didn't even know what colour the bird was. Through the numerous tears in her clothing, Krystal could clearly see the worrying outline of her ribs, along with numerous scars and bruises. Her striking navy blue eyes had bags under them from lack of sleep.

Rykah finished examining herself and moved on to exploring the closet. As she did so, she pondered aloud in Cerinian, "By the way, who was that other bird? The unconscious one?"

The sapphire fox cocked her head. "You mean Falco? What about him?"

"Is that his name? I feel so bad for him, getting shot and all. Can we go see him in the infirmary? I think I might be able to help with his injuries." Rykah replied as she shut the closet door.

Krystal nodded and the pair stepped out of the room. "Do you have experience with treating wounds?" She questioned casually as she walked down the deserted corridor.

Rykah giggled in answer, "You could say that."

The blue fox just shrugged and continued walking. After a few more minutes of silence, a notion hit her. "Hey, if we're going to the _sterile _infirmary, you can't go in there like that. Fox won't let you within ten feet of Falco if you intend to treat his wounds. Let's get you cleaned up and out of those disgusting rags, huh?" She said over her shoulder to the falcon following her. Rykah smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. Krystal returned the smile and guided the bird over to her room.

Krystal's room had exactly the same set up as Rykah's, only it looked like someone lived there. Papers and books were piled neatly on the desk in the corner, and the bed's sheets were creased from use. Rykah sat down on the bed while Krystal rummaged around in her tiny closet, hunting for a suitable outfit for her new friend. After a few minutes, she let out a happy squeal and came out with one item of clothing. "Here, try this on after you take a shower." She handed a simple navy blue dress to Rykah.

The avian looked approvingly at the dress and then back at Krystal. "Thanks so much! Umm…where's the bathroom?" She inquired with a furrowed brow.

Krystal smiled in appreciation and opened the door. She pointed across the narrow hall to a similar door, only this one was slightly smaller and labelled "bathroom" in silver letters. "Now, take as long as you need to scrub all that grime and dirt off your pretty little feathers. I'll be waiting here when you come out." She said and gently nudged Rykah in the direction of the bathroom. The falcon eagerly opened the door and disappeared inside the tiny washroom.

Rykah actually did take a long time in that shower. Krystal waited for a good half hour before the door to her room finally hissed open. The blue vixen gaped in amazement at the transformation of her new friend. Rykah was adorned in her blue dress, which was a simple halter-top with a flared bottom that went a little passed the knees. It wasn't the perfectly-fitting dress that made Krystal stare in wonder, it was Rykah herself.

Beneath the filth, the female falcon was absolutely stunning. Her feathers were a beautiful sunset orange, with golden tips on the wings and tail. Her long crest fell to her shoulders, and that was golden, too. The scaly patches around her eyes were red, just like Falco's.

Rykah averted her gaze in self-consciousness and traced a circle on the ground with one of her talons. "They starved me real bad, didn't they? I must look like a skeleton…" She muttered softly.

Krystal shook her head. The dress didn't accentuate Rykah's emaciated form, but rather made it look like one smooth line. The blue vixen beamed at her friend and moved aside so she could see herself in the mirror. Rykah gasped in surprise at the tangerine falcon staring back at her.

"The boys will be floored when they see you! You look gorgeous!" Krystal exclaimed in Cerinian and grabbed Rykah's wing to lead her down the hall to the infirmary. Before she could take three steps, Rykah dug her talons into the metal floor and forced her friend to come to a sudden halt. Krystal glanced over her shoulder, perplexed.

The orange and gold falcon stared down at the floor again. "Krystal…I'm really scared of males…You see, it was the opposite sex that abused me during my time on Macbeth. I don't want to attract the attention of any 'boys'…" She said hesitantly.

The sapphire fox nodded in understanding. She placed a hand on Rykah's shoulder and reassured her, "They won't do a thing to you, I promise. They're your friends as much as mine…well except for Fox. He's_ more_ than a friend to me. They'll really like you, so don't worry about them!" With a little more encouraging, Rykah finally got over her fear somewhat and agreed to make friends with the other male members instead of just going and treating Falco.

Once the pair reached the infirmary, Krystal walked in first to make sure it was alright to come in. Fox said it was okay, so she motioned for Rykah to follow her inside the infirmary. Fox took one look at the flame-coloured falcon and smiled at the blue vixen beside her. "You're a genius with clothing, Krystal." He turned his attention back to Rykah and complimented, "You look like a much different girl from when I saw you a few hours ago. Krystal did an amazing job; you look beautiful."

A shy smile tugged at the corners of Rykah's mouth, but Krystal could still see the slight apprehensiveness in her deep blue eyes. She decided to change the subject. "How's Falco doing, Fox?" The sapphire vixen questioned, before her friend could get too uncomfortable.

Fox turned around to reveal that the blue falcon was still out cold, but the bleeding had stopped from his wound. "I managed to get the bullet out, so it should heal within a few days. Luckily, it didn't go in very deep." He answered with a frown. Even though the bullet was gone, Falco was sweating more than was normal and his breathing was shallow. He felt a tap on his shoulder and noticed it was Rykah.

"I…see Falco?" The orange avian requested in broken English. Fox understood and got up from the bed to stand by Krystal. When Rykah started to unwrap the bandages, Fox went to stop her, but the sapphire vixen prevented him with a stern glare.

Rykah gently held Falco's wing as she continued to undo Fox's work with the gauze. It was a poor job, anyway. Once the slightly bloodstained linen was lying in a pile beside her, the sunset-coloured falcon placed the fingers of one wing on the wound. Krystal and Fox could only watch in awe as she chanted a few words and the bullet wound disappeared, like nothing happened. She also placed her fingers on Falco's forehead and said the same words. The fever-like symptoms vanished and his breathing became deep and even. After a few tense minutes, his eyes fluttered open.

"Who the hell are you?" The blue falcon snapped irritably. Rykah jumped back with a frightened expression and hid behind Krystal again.

"Falco! Is it fair to be so rude to the girl who just saved you from a world of pain?" Krystal chasisted in defense of Rykah.

Falco raised a skeptical eyebrow at the cowering female falcon behind Krystal. "How did you save me? You some sorta sorceress?" He asked curtly.

Rykah threw a confused glance at Krystal and the blue fox translated for her. When the falcon understood, she nodded vigorously. This only added to Falco's already annoyed state. "Oh goody, I've been saved by a magical bird. Not only that, she can't speak English, either. What a day." He commented with heavy sarcasm.

"It was either that, or spend a few days in a feverish hell because I didn't know what was wrong with you." Fox remarked, also in defence of Rykah. Falco opened his mouth to retaliate, but he knew the vulpine was right. So he merely sat there, smoldering for a few minutes.

Krystal huffed and added expectantly, "Aren't you going to thank Rykah for healing your injuries?"

The blue falcon tensed and set his jaw. When he glanced up again, he saw that Rykah had moved out from behind Krystal and he could now see her fully. His stubborn composure faltered for a second, and he clamped his beak shut as he looked away again. He would _not_ allow himself to swoon over this girl like Fox did with Krystal. "Thanks." Falco mumbled through clenched teeth, though his intended rude tone clearly wavered on the edge of sincerity. Satisfied, Krystal turned around and left the infirmary with Rykah. Falco couldn't help but stare after the flame-coloured falcon, taking in her beauty.

Fox plopped himself down on the bed beside his friend, startling him out of his reverie. He directed a knowing look towards the bird.

"What?" Falco said tersely.

"I saw that look on your face. You _like_ the new girl." The brown vulpine smirked, ignoring the death glare he got from Falco.

"I don't! How could you even assume something that absurd? I fly solo, you know that." Falco shot back, but couldn't hide the slight blush that rose to his cheeks.

Fox's smirk widened into a wicked smile as he slowly stood up again. "Wait 'til Katt hears about this! You'll never hear the end of it!" He chortled and sprinted off before Falco could seize the collar of his shirt.

The blue falcon growled as he ripped the thin, white sheet off of him and chased after Fox. He could hear him laughing from down the hall and followed the sound until he came to the command room. The rest of the team, including Krystal and Rykah, stood around the edges of the room as Fox hovered over the holographic communicator's keyboard.

"Don't you dare touch that keypad, Fox! I'm warning you!" Falco said menacingly, ignoring the confused glances from the other team members.

Krystal and Rykah frowned in concentration as they read Falco's flustered thoughts. The former queried, "What's up with you? We never see you lose your cool like this." Neither she nor Rykah could make sense of the blue falcon's incoherent, racing thoughts.

Falco didn't answer as he was preoccupied with his current mental torture. If Katt knew he had a crush on Rykah, the pink feline would never stop gushing about it. Katt was usually modest, but when it came to gossip, she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Falco's reputation of being a 'lone wolf' was on the line here. He took another step closer to Fox, and the brown vulpine's fingers inched closer to the keypad.

"You know we have Katt on speed-dial. She'll be delighted to hear about your little secret." Fox sneered and laughed a little at the murderous look in his best friend's eyes.

The blue avian sighed in frustration and ran his fingers along his crest to smooth it down. "What do you want, McCloud? I haven't even been here three weeks and this is the treatment I get from my best pal? Some friend you are!" He said sarcastically, hoping the guilt trip would work.

The tactic seemed to be successful because the mischievous glint in Fox's eyes disappeared for a moment. Falco took the momentary distraction to rush across the room and tackle the brown vulpine. The two wrestled on the floor for a bit; Falco was cursing and Fox laughing.

A few minutes of this passed and the avian had his friend pinned on the floor. Fox couldn't escape. "Alright, I give! I won't tell! Let me up, will ya?" Fox surrendered as he winced. It didn't help that his best friend had his knee digging into his back, while his arms were painfully held in place there.

"Promise?" Falco said sternly, tightening his grip. He had to say that Rykah did a good job with his wing. It was completely healed and he felt no pain there at all.

"Yeah, yeah I promise! Lemme go!" The brown vulpine whined as he squirmed uncomfortably. After a few seconds of deliberation, Falco finally released Fox. The moment he was free, Fox got up and sprinted for the door. "Falco has a crush on Rykah!" He yelled, just before the door shut behind him.

Falco groaned in defeat, seeing no point in chasing after Fox now. The beans were spilled and now it was time to see the reaction. Peppy and Slippy were surprised, to say the least. The old hare had an intrigued eyebrow raised and Slippy was snickering quietly. Falco shot him a glare and the amphibian faked a cough, pretending to go back to work.

The blue falcon took note of some whispering on the opposite side of the room, where Krystal and Rykah were. The sapphire vixen was saying something in her native language to Rykah, and her eyes grew wide for a moment. She shifted from foot to foot uneasily, and Krystal led her out of the room. Falco saw the slight fear in her eyes as she left, and his previous anger at Fox boiled up again. He stalked across the room and exited, only to find Fox leaning casually against the wall nearby. The brown vulpine tensed, ready for another chase, but there was none.

"Thanks a lot, McCloud. I blew it even before I introduced myself. Now Rykah's scared of me because of you. Krystal went back to her room with her." The sincere hurt in his eyes and the heavy disappointment in his voice was plain as day.

Fox felt his heart tighten with guilt as he tried to apologize. "Hey, I didn't mean to scare her off. I was just playing with you, buddy. Tell you what, I'll set things straight. Sorry that things went this far." He placed a reassuring hand on Falco's shoulder, but the falcon merely shrugged it off and turned around to walk back to his room with a sad sigh.

Fox frowned and headed in the opposite way, towards Krystal's room. Hopefully, he could catch up with the pair and undo the effects of his little prank.


	2. Breaking the Ice

**A/N: I see how popular this story is for all of one person. I know you guys are out there, and it really doesn't take long to leave a comment. Anyway, I'd like to know what my readers think of Rykah. Do you like her? Hate her? Does anyone want me to add some Fox/Krystal romance as well? Enjoy the second chapter!**

Fox jogged down the metallic corridor, searching for Krystal and Rykah. He felt a guilty pang in his heart every time he thought of Falco's downcast face. He really screwed things up this time, but how was he supposed to know that Rykah would be frightened of the notion that someone liked her? Fox shook his head and came to an abrupt halt. He was at the door to Krystal's room and there was audible conversation coming from the other side. It wasn't in English, so he had no idea what the two girls were talking about. Plus, he wasn't keen on eavesdropping. Fox knocked softly on the door and Krystal opened it. He spied Rykah sitting on the bed behind her with a contemplative expression.

"Hey Krystal, Rykah. How are you two doing? I didn't go too far, did I?" The brown vulpine asked as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Krystal turned to Rykah and asked her opinion in Cerinian. Rykah replied in the same language and the vixen translated, "Rykah says she's very surprised and a bit shocked to hear that Falco thinks of her like this. Since he already scared her before, this is just confusing. Plus, where she comes from, romantic feelings are _respected_ and not treated like a _game_." Her condescending tone on the last phrase made Fox's ears droop in shame.

"Alright, alright I feel bad enough already. I just need to know if Rykah will give Falco a chance. I've never seen him this down about a girl." Fox explained quickly, tail lashing impatiently.

He looked to Rykah for an answer, but Krystal flipped her short hair and snorted, "That's because he's never _had_ a girl." She turned around and addressed the female falcon on the bed, "Rykah, do you want to see Falco?"

Rykah thought for a moment, and then hesitantly nodded. Krystal smiled excitedly and took her by the wing while Fox sighed in relief. The trio walked quickly down the hall towards Falco's room. When they arrived, the brown vulpine rapped on the door, but there was no answer. He waited for a minute, and then tried again. When there was still no reply, he shrugged and turned to Rykah and Krystal. "Either he's ignoring us or he's not there. I don't know; I saw him go in this direction before I came to find you guys. It could very well be the former; you know how he isolates himself when he's upset.

"I'll try and contact him. He couldn't have gone far." Krystal offered. She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. She stood completely still for a full minute and a half before she opened her eyes and confirmed, "He's in the training room, but doesn't want to see you, Fox."

Fox rolled his eyes and chuckled a bit. "I figured as much. He usually takes his frustration and anger out on the punching bag in there. I wasn't planning on going in myself, anyway." He commented as he started walking again.

"Oh?" The sapphire vixen behind him raised an eyebrow, "Then how are you going to make amends with him?"

"This isn't about me. I've already apologized, and we both know who's at the root of this problem." Fox replied matter-of-factly.

There was a short silence and then Rykah broke it. "Me?" She said timidly from beside Krystal.

The brown vulpine nodded. "Yes, Rykah. You're the only one who can fix it. Of course, Falco will forgive me eventually, but this is faster. It also lessens the chance of him wanting revenge. You _never_ want to see Falco angry, it's downright terrifying." He shuddered a little, and looked at Rykah to see if she understood.

"I make Falco angry?" Rykah asked in slight confusion.

"No, no. You'll make Falco _happy_. If you give him a chance, he'll be _very_ happy, and I won't get _very _injured." Fox clarified.

Rykah smiled as she understood. The rest of the trip to the training room was quiet, and finally they arrived at their destination. Krystal went to follow Rykah into the training room, but the orange falcon held a hand out to stop her. "No, Krystal. I go only." She smiled confidently. Krystal nodded and went to stand by Fox. Rykah pressed the button on the wall and the metal door slid open.

Rykah gave a start and backed up against the wall once the door shut behind her. Falco hadn't noticed her come in, as he was in the process of mercilessly kicking a red punching bag set up in the far corner of the spacious room. The chain that held it to the ceiling rattled noisily each time the falcon's leg impacted it. Beside the punching bag was a series of mats along the length of the wall. On the opposite side was a shooting range with cardboard targets. Assortments of weapons, mostly blasters, were on a rack in the corner.

It was Falco's sheer strength that made Rykah's previous confidence disappear. Every time he kicked the punching bag, she swore it would fly off its chain. Falco had abandoned his usual jacket and shirt, even his bandana. They were lying in a crumpled heap nearby. Rykah could see the muscles in his back and wings tense each time he prepared for another kick. She felt heat rise to her cheeks at the sight, but quickly chastised herself for acting so foolish. She barely knew the falcon's name!

"Falco?" Rykah called out shyly, edging closer to the blue avian.

Falco stopped attacking his inanimate victim, but he didn't turn around. "Krystal, I don't care how sorry Fox is. Get out before I decide to turn him into a punching bag."

The orange falcon cocked her head. "Krystal?" She repeated, slightly perplexed. Why did Falco think she was Krystal?

The blue avian sighed and spun around on his heel, a sarcastic comment ready in his mind. It dissipated as he saw Rykah. He gave a slight start of surprise at the sight of the female falcon on the other end of the room. "Oh, it's you. Sorry, you and Krystal sound the same. Your name's Rykah, right?" Falco stated in a bored tone as he strode across the room towards Rykah.

Rykah nodded and smiled a little. She flinched as Falco grabbed her hand to shake it, and he smirked as he properly introduced himself. "Falco Lombardi, ace pilot of the Star Fox Team. Pleased to meet you, Rykah." He released her hand and crossed his wings over his chest, characteristically impatient. "So, what do you want? As you can see, I was in the middle of training." He tapped his foot on the metal floor.

The flame-coloured falcon furrowed her brow in concentration as she thought of the words she wanted to say. Krystal couldn't translate for her this time, and it didn't help that she could feel the heat radiating off of Falco's body, due to his intensive workout. The smell of sweat mixed with his scent only made it harder to find the English words. "I want to…give you chance. Yes?" She said slowly, the foreign words coming out awkwardly. Was that what Fox and Krystal kept talking about? Giving Falco another shot?

Falco's smirk widened into an amused smile as he rolled his shoulders back and forth. "You don't speak English very well, do you?" He commented non-chalantly. Rykah shook her head. "You understand me though, right?" Falco continued with a raised eyebrow.

Rykah nodded her head fervently. "I know in here," she pointed to her head, "but I not speak."

The blue avian tapped the fingers of one hand on the upper wing of the other. "Fine, I accept. Is that all?" He confirmed, glancing back and forth between Rykah and the punching bag.

Rykah shrugged and Falco wordlessly turned around, eager to get back to training. He may have looked as bored as hell on the outside, but on the inside he was rejoicing. He would thank Fox later. As he got back into beating the punching bag, he forgot that Rykah was still in the room. In all honesty, he expected her to leave.

The tangerine falcon didn't mind that Falco wasn't paying attention to her anymore. She wandered over to the rack of weapons and inspected it. There were about six different guns on the top section of the rack, all one size larger than the one next to it. Below that were long, metal staffs and the final section was composed of a couple of unstrung aluminium alloy bows and two quivers of arrows. She decided to pick up the smallest blaster. The one beside it looked like the ones she had seen Fox and Krystal use when the team broke her out of the cell.

Rykah weighed the weapon in her hands and curiously looked it over. It looked easy enough to operate, and it was very light. She walked quietly over to the shooting range and disengaged the safety. She pointed the muzzle at a target and pulled the trigger. A red laser shot out, and the recoil was stronger than she thought. Rykah stumbled back a few steps, and froze as she heard Falco's voice from across the room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You wanna kill somebody with that thing?" The blue avian's tone was angry as well as rude. Rykah lowered her wings and put the safety back on. She had shot a gun before, but that didn't mean she was any good at it. She ducked her head as Falco came up beside her. The female falcon expected him to strike her, as all the male guards did on Macbeth, but instead he gently took the blaster from her now trembling hands.

"Look, this is how you shoot properly." Falco's previous anger had disappeared considerably, and his voice was now irritated more than anything. Rykah was surprised at the sudden change in his tone, even if it was still a bit rude. She brought her head up and watched as the blue falcon cocked the gun, aimed, and fired. The red laser hit the same target, only square in the chest. It was much better than her shot, which she now discovered barely clipped the hand of the target.

Rykah nodded and Falco handed her back the gun. She cocked it and aimed, but she was interrupted by the male falcon before she could pull the trigger. "Look down the barrel of the gun, not just at the target. And relax your back; you look more uptight than General Pepper." Falco advised sarcastically. Rykah was about to ask who General Pepper was, but she decided against it. She let the muscles in her back loosen up and stared straight down the length of the blaster, just like the blue avian had told her. She fired, and the laser made a hole below Falco's, to the right a bit.

"Good. Try again." Falco encouraged curtly.

The flame-coloured falcon stuck her tongue out in concentration as she aimed for the target's head. Since the head was smaller than the torso, she had more trouble focusing. Finally, she fired another shot, and the laser made a sizable hole in the cardboard cut-out's forehead. Rykah smiled at Falco and he chuckled quietly in approval.

"I see you're not as bad as I thought you were. Let's try multiple shots. Pull the trigger more than once as you shoot." Falco instructed seriously.

Rykah aimed the gun at the head of her target, but Falco pointed it down a little with one finger. She glanced questioningly at him and he explained simply, "Don't get ahead of yourself." Rykah turned her attention back to her blaster and fired two shots in rapid succession. The recoil of the first shot made her step back and the second one hit the target's torso a few inches to the left of the first shot.

The blue avian put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. Rykah frowned as he shook his head in disappointment. "Tensing up after the first shot will only make it worse. It could mean the difference between a hit and a miss. Here, let me show you." He took the gun from her hands and re-enacted her mistake on a new target. The shots were more than a few inches apart. "Now, if I don't tense up and let my back absorb the recoil, this is what happens." Falco fired two shots, but it only looked as if he had fired one larger laser. He gave the gun back to Rykah, who fired again.

This time she fired two shots, and kept her back relaxed. The first one hit the target, but the other also went through the same hole in a perfect line. The wall behind the targets was metal, so the laser bounced off of the wall and straight back at Rykah. Before she had time to react, she suddenly felt herself being pinned down on the floor and heard Falco shout, "Get down!" Rykah couldn't move her head as Falco had it held down with his wing. She could only hear the _ping_ as the laser bounced off the opposite wall, and then the familiar sound of it hitting the target.

Falco released her with an annoyed growl. "_Never_ do that again. I have enough near-death experiences in the air without some newbie trying to shoot my head off with a blaster." His harsh tone lightened as he continued, "I have to give you credit for accuracy, though. Nice work." He gently took the gun from Rykah's shaky hands and put the safety back on. Once he returned the weapon to its rightful place on the rack, he turned around to face Rykah again.

The tangerine falcon merely stood there, quivering slightly. Then she walked the few steps between them and nuzzled her head against Falco's chest, cooing gratefully a few times.

"Whoa, hey; hands off, I don't do no sentimental stuff." The blue avian hurriedly pried her feathery fingers off of his shoulders. "Plus, Fox and Krystal would have killed me if they knew you got shot in the face on my watch. Uhh…anybody give you a tour yet?" He changed the subject as he jogged across the room and put his shirt, jacket, and bandana back on.

Rykah shook her head and Falco smirked. "Right, then let's get started. I want to get this done before dinner. Now that we have more money, I won't have to eat crap anymore." He said and strode off in the direction of the door. Rykah followed without hesitation. When they were in the hallway again, she discovered Fox and Krystal had left. She felt a lot more vulnerable and awkward without Krystal as her translator.

Falco and Rykah walked further into the depths of the Great Fox. After about five minutes of silence, the male of the two queried, "How do you like it here? Krystal's letting you borrow her stuff, huh?"

The orange falcon nodded and replied hesitantly, "Here is wonderful. I have food and clothes. I sleep in bed. Krystal is good person."

"Yeah, she's the best thing that ever happened to Fox. She always watches out for the rest of us, not to mention she can kick ass with a staff, too. She always beats me when we spar together." Falco explained, only to have Rykah cock her head in confusion again. Sighing, he clarified, "Krystal is a good fighter."

The flame-coloured avian nodded in understanding and complimented shyly, "You good fighter, too. You very…strong? Yes, strong."

"Uhh, thanks. Damn, we really need to teach you English. The government will provide you with English courses when we get to Corneria, but it's better to learn early." Falco chuckled, and then halted. "Well, here we are. The hangar, where all the Arwings are kept." He pushed open the heavy double doors and Rykah followed. She gasped in awe once they closed behind her.

All four of the silver and blue aircraft were lined up along the width of the hangar. Falco smiled and strutted over to the second one from the left, which is the side they had entered on. He patted the nose of the Arwing, like one would do with a trusted workhorse. "This one here is my pride and joy. These things are all getting old, needing repairs and whatnot. They still fly, though. Through that giant door there is where we take off, and behind us is the Landmaster. Personally, I hate that bulky piece of junk. I'd take the air any day." He scoffed as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

Rykah wandered over to the tank, which wasn't much bigger than the Arwings. The cannon on the front looked terrifying, and she instinctively shied away from the vehicle, only to back up into Falco. "The tank isn't going to come alive and shoot you to smithereens, you know. Only Fox and Slippy use it, really. C'mon, we have lots of other stuff to cover." He stated sarcastically, pivoting on one foot. Rykah trotted up beside him as he marched out of the hangar.

"So, I assume Krystal already gave you a room?" The blue avian inquired once they were on their way again. Rykah replied with a nod. "Good, that's one less thing I have to do. By the way, how old are you? You look pretty young for an ex-prisoner." He stated as he looked Rykah up and down, trying to guess her age.

Rykah smiled and replied, "First, you."

"Ah, you're getting the hang of talking to me! I'm twenty-three, going on twenty-four. Now you." Falco answered with an eyebrow cocked in intrigue.

The tangerine falcon fell silent for a moment, thinking of the number. "Twenty…two." She said, not entirely confident that was the right number. She was sure she was a year younger than Falco, though.

The blue avian nodded and focused on the hallway ahead of him. He didn't notice that Rykah was stealing glances at him. After a while she asked timidly, "Is Krystal mate of Fox?"

Falco almost burst out laughing at that question. He answered as he held back a snicker, "No, no, no, those two are only boyfriend and girlfriend. I wouldn't be surprised if they did become mates, though. How about you? A pretty thing like you must be taken already." He could have kicked himself for that remark. He hadn't considered the notion that Rykah might have a boyfriend somewhere, just waiting to be reunited with her again.

To his inner-most relief, Rykah shook her head. She furrowed her brow as she read Falco's mind about the matter. "You happy I not have a mate yet. Why?" She asked innocently, but she already knew the answer.

"What? I never said I was happy about…Oh wait, you're a magical bird. Does that mean you can read minds, too?" Falco said dully.

"Yes, I read minds like Krystal. Why you happy I do not have a mate?" The female falcon repeated in a firmer voice.

Just like the first time, Falco shut his beak and looked away. He focused on something else entirely to block his thoughts. He did the same whenever he didn't want Krystal to know what he was thinking. Rykah merely giggled and dropped the subject. She knew how Falco felt about her, and she was a bit wary because of it, but she found it amusing that he was too proud to say that he had taken a liking to her.

Soon enough, they had come to the same door that Rykah, Fox, and Krystal had stopped at earlier. Falco pointed to the door. "This is my room. Don't ever go in there, unless you have my permission. That will probably never happen. We also have our own bathrooms, so you don't have to share. I assume you already know where the infirmary is, and Krystal's room, so I'll just show you Fox's room in case you need to see him about whatever. Slippy and Peppy's rooms aren't important." He explained and strode off, eager to get the tour over with.

When they arrived at the door to Fox's room, Falco knocked on the door. He got no answer, and an evil smile crept across his face. He pressed the button on the wall and the door slid open. Rykah frowned as she observed Falco steal inside the room. He glanced around the immaculate dwelling of the Star Fox Team leader and picked up his can of body spray. The blue falcon sprayed a bunch of the stuff on the mirror and wrote on the now cloudy glass, "Falco and Rykah were here."

Rykah gaped at the blue falcon, peeved that he would take her down with him. Falco pocketed the spray and closed the door. The female falcon looked disapprovingly at the can in his pocket.

"Oh, what now? I steal it from him all the time! It smells better than mine, anyway." Falco shrugged and then sniffed the air. "I smell food. Let's go before it's all gone." He said urgently and broke into a jog, heading for the command room. Rykah followed, rolling her eyes. Falco sure was an odd bird in her mind. He would be sarcastic and rude one minute, and a carefree prankster the next.


	3. Teacher and Student

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter may seem a little boring. There is a bit of fluff at the end, so bear with me! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to add this in chapter 1, but I do not own Star Fox or anything else that is referenced in this story. This includes movies, books, characters, etc. with the exception of my own OC's.**

Falco had been right; by the time he and Rykah arrived at the command room, the food was already half-gone. He groaned inwardly at letting himself get carried away with tour, even if it was slightly so. Or was it bad karma for stealing Fox's body spray? Either way, he scolded himself for being late for dinner. Unlike the cheap pizza and soda he had consumed everyday on his first few days back, this time Peppy ordered enough versions of pasta to keep even the pickiest of the crew satisfied; picky meaning him. Falco didn't fail to notice that Krystal wasn't far behind in that category, though. He always spied her picking off something or other at almost every meal.

The blue avian surveyed the different plastic containers of food set before him on the holo-table in the middle of the room. Peppy only ordered enough for every individual on the ship, and no less. He saw that Fox, Krystal, and the old hare were already dining on their meals, and Slippy was at the holo-table doing the same as him. Falco snatched up the shrimp linguini before the green amphibian could get to it. The frown on Slippy's face gave him even more satisfaction as he triumphantly spun around on his heel and picked an empty, secluded spot in the corner to eat his food.

Slippy didn't bother protesting, as he knew that would only make Falco happier. He settled on the anchovy fettuccini and made to return to his usual chair, if he didn't look up and see Rykah. She stared at the only one left, which was marked 'scallop pasta salad', with confusion. "It's alright, scallops are really good. You've never had them before?" He reassured the female falcon. Rykah shook her head and he continued in a whisper, "You'll love them, I promise. Plus, they're Falco's favourite; I don't know why he took the shrimp. He usually beats anyone who tries to take his scallops to a pulp." The frightened expression on Rykah's face was one he expected, but with a bit more encouraging, he convinced the orange avian to eat the pasta _and _go sit by Falco.

Rykah gulped and hesitantly stepped towards Falco. The blue falcon glanced up and cocked an eyebrow as she sat down next to him. "What do you want?" He demanded coldly. His tone was the exact opposite of the casual, conversational one he had used during their tour.

"To eat, with you." Rykah replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She saw him eyeing the unopened container in her hands, but as soon as she caught his gaze, he looked away and shoveled some more pasta into his mouth, using the metal fork to catch any loose ends. Since he had a beak and not lips, he couldn't exactly slurp the food up.

Falco made a noise of disapproval when she didn't leave, but he didn't move away either. He continued eating and froze a few minutes later when Rykah forked a couple of scallops into his container. The blue avian gave her a questioning glance and she replied with a smile, "Slippy say you like them."

"Umm…Thanks." Falco acknowledged gruffly, without meeting the orange falcon's eyes.

The rest of dinner went quietly until everyone was finished. Falco got up to leave, but Peppy's voice stopped him. "Where do you think you're going, Falco? Last one here picks up the plastics and utensils and puts them in the garbage."

The blue falcon cursed himself. _"This is what I get for being polite to a girl, huh? Dirty dishes and garbage disposal." _He was about to reply, but Rykah interrupted him.

"It only fair, Falco. No one will take garbage for you." She piped up with an amused giggle. Rykah spoke what pretty much everyone else was thinking.

Falco growled menacingly and turned on the female falcon. "Who am I to take orders from _you_, newbie?" He snapped with venom in his tone. He didn't care at the moment that she shrank back and protectively shielded her head with her wings.

"Who are _you_ to refuse orders from a senior member _and_ a fine lady like Rykah?" Peppy shot back with authority.

The blue avian bit back a furious hiss, now that he noticed the attention of the whole team was on him. His clenched fists shook with anger, but that quickly subsided as he gave in to his hurt pride and hastily picked up the empty containers and utensils. When that was done, he wordlessly left the command room and headed for the garbage disposal. Once he had all the trash taken care of, he exited the disposal room only to find Krystal waiting impatiently for him by the door.

"Oh, what is it now?" Falco asked exasperatedly.

"You had no reason to snap at Rykah like that, you know. She was just trying to have some fun with you." The sapphire vixen scolded her friend.

The blue avian sighed in aggravation as he pushed past Krystal, and he expected her to follow, which she did. "So? I lose my temper _all_ the time, what difference does it make? Even my best friend sets me off more times than I'd like to count. Plus, someone needs to teach her to toughen up."

Krystal clamped her hand down hard on Falco's shoulder, causing him to turn around with a wince. She brought him down to her level, which wasn't much of a difference, and stared him straight in the eye. "Listen, and listen well, birdbrain. Rykah has been tortured, abused, and starved for _months_ on end before we rescued her. Anyone else would have died in that horrid base. Don't you think someone would have to be pretty _tough_ to withstand all that?" She growled in her most threatening voice. Falco nodded just so she would stop sinking her sharp nails into his shoulder. Krystal released him and stalked off, and the blue avian kept his mouth shut so he wouldn't anger her further.

Once he was sure she couldn't hear him, he muttered to himself, "Geez, _women_. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em." Falco wandered in the direction of his room, since he had absolutely nothing else to do. Inside his quarters, his digital clock claimed it was around seven, so he had about four hours to kill before he would be tired enough to call it a day. Still, the battle earlier took quite a bit out of him. He blamed his quicker than normal fuse on the fact that he was already tired and in no mood to tolerate any form of teasing or other behaviour he found annoying.

The blue avian hung his black leather jacket on the back of his chair and deposited his bandana on the desk it was tucked under. He pulled off his boots and welcomed the sense of relief that came with it as he stretched his talons apart for the first time since morning. His navy-blue feathers became overlapping, yellow scales half-way down his muscled calf that ended in sharp, black talons he was quite proud of. Falco flexed his feet and rolled his ankles, then sat down on the edge of his bed.

He glanced over his wings and began preening them, as any normal bird would do, but then stopped himself. Here and there were small patches of dried blood or dirt from the battle, but Falco hadn't really noticed them before. What stopped him was the sense that he felt it was absolutely necessary to preen his feathers, that it wouldn't be right to leave them like this. Of course, he would have done this anyway, or taken a shower, but the urge to make himself look _better _unsettled him slightly. The blue avian shook his head, grabbed the gray T-shirt and sweat pants he used as pyjamas from his closet, and headed for the shower.

Once he was completely clean, Falco went back to preening, convinced he had not gotten to the layers of feathers underneath the outermost one. Then he took one look at himself in the mirror and frowned. The usually smooth crest on top of his head was slightly ruffled because of the towel, but that never really bothered him until now. Irritated, Falco tugged and smoothed the shorter feathers until he was satisfied with their appearance.

Again, the blue falcon questioned his behaviour. _"What the hell am I doing? I'm acting like Krystal before she goes on a date with Fox, flitting back and forth between her bedroom and bathroom! I've got no one to impress, no one to look-"_His thoughts got interrupted by a knock at his door. "It's open!" Falco called out to his unseen visitor.

His expression became one of interest when Fox opened his door. "Hey, Falco. We're having a movie night in an hour or so, if you're not too peeved to join us. It's ladies' choice, so I have no idea what they're going to pick. We haven't missed a movie night yet with you, so it would be a bummer if you didn't come." The brown vulpine explained casually. As he spoke, he took a seat at the desk, facing his teammate. Of all the members of the team, Fox was the only one Falco allowed in his room without permission.

Falco chuckled and replied, "I wouldn't miss a movie night even if I wanted to rip someone else's guts out. I'll be there, like I always am."

"That's good to hear," Fox smiled, but then cocked his head as he focused more on his friend's feathers, "Falco, your feathers are shinier than usual. You've been preening again and I think you're trying to get a certain falcon's attention." He snickered at Falco's eye-roll.

"Can't a bird preen his feathers without being judged? I'm not trying to look good for Rykah, if that's what you're thinking. I couldn't care less about her." The blue avian said defensively and crossed his arms.

Fox smirked as he exited the room. "Whatever you say, buddy. See you at eight in the command room." With that he let the door slide shut behind him, leaving Falco alone once more. Only this time his mood was a little more irritated.

Falco stretched himself out on his bed to relax and take a quick nap, but no more than a few minutes had elapsed before he heard another knock on his door. With a quiet groan he snapped, "What?" Taking that as a 'enter', his second visitor opened the door.

Rykah stood in the doorway, looking nervous. She still wasn't sure if she should enter or not. The falcon on the bed sat up and gave her a bored glance. "Yes, Rykah?" His emotionless tone matched his emotionless gaze.

The flame-coloured falcon hesitated for a second, forming her words. Then she said timidly, "Krystal say you teach me English. Yes?" Her voice ended on a hopeful note.

"I don't see why _I_ have to do it. Krystal would be a much better person, considering she can speak your language _and_ English perfectly well. Why can't-"The blue avian stopped mid-sentence as the answer became clear to him. He set his jaw as he realized this was some sort of punishment for frightening Rykah at dinner. Well, he definitely didn't want to face the vixen's wrath again, so he had no choice but to accept. "Fine," Falco muttered, "I'll teach you to speak English. How long does this have to take?"

The orange falcon didn't answer for a few seconds, and then relayed Krystal's words as best as she could, "You teach me for one hour each day until we reach Corneria."

Falco held back the outburst of disapproval on his tongue. It would take them five days to reach Corneria, which was on the other end of the Lylat System. The Great Fox could go faster, but Slippy didn't have the materials needed to repair the engine yet, and the battered old thing was going at half its full speed to conserve fuel. They were planning to stop on Zoness to get both fuel and the necessary engine parts. Some parts of the ocean-covered planet had turned back to normal after Andross was killed, thanks to the work of Cornerian and Zonessian scientists.

There was a supply depot on the planet that was crucial for any ships traveling in the area. Now that some areas were habitable, the famous vacation business there was re-establishing itself. The supply depot was as important for cargo ships as it was for vacationers.

"I might as well get started now, seeing as we've got exactly an hour before movie night starts. What do you really want to work on with your English?" The blue avian asked as Rykah hesitantly walked into the room and sat in the same chair Fox had been not ten minutes ago.

Rykah furrowed her brow for a moment and then replied, "Krystal says I forget important…verbs and tenses."

Falco nodded in agreement. "Yes, you do. I don't blame you though; English isn't the easiest of languages because it's not as straightforward as most would think. Let's start off by having a conversation and I'll point out your mistakes. You first."

The female falcon smiled and queried, "Where you come from?"

"No, it's where _do_ you come from. There are auxiliary verbs in English, which basically just set the mood for certain verbs that comes after or before it. Keep that in mind, and try again. Oh, and I come from Zoness." Falco explained, taking on the same instructor-like tone he had used in the training room.

Rykah remained silent for a minute as she tried to make sense of the information. Once she was sure she could put it into practice, she looked up as the falcon across from her. "How…is your wing? I do well, yes?"

The blue avian shook his head and Rykah frowned. "You got the first part right, and the second part is where tenses come in. You know past, present, and future. If you want to say something that already happened, put it in past tense. Now, what's the past tense of 'do'?" He questioned patiently.

"It is 'did', yes? I _did_ well?" Rykah tried, earning a nod of approval from Falco. She smiled brightly at her small victory, and he couldn't help but feel the corners of his mouth twitch upwards, hard as he tried to remain serious.

"Alright, now it's my turn. What's your favourite colour?" Falco inquired as he leaned forward on the bed, resting his chin on his palms.

The orange falcon answered flawlessly, "My favourite colour is green. What is yours?"

Falco cocked an eyebrow at her learning speed. "You really pick up on things quickly, don't you? Mine's red, if you'd like to know." He commented.

After what felt like only a few more exchanged phrases and corrections, Falco glanced at his clock on the desk behind Rykah and noticed it was already eight o'clock. He stood up from the bed and stretched his legs out. "Well, that'll do for today. You're a fast learner; I wouldn't be surprised if you know English perfectly well by the time we get to Corneria. Let's go so you can pick out the movie with Krystal. You did okay today, Rykah." The blue avian complimented, much to his surprise. That was the most words of kindness he remembered saying to anyone in a long while. Rykah beamed at his words, and although he would never tell anyone, his heart fluttered slightly at the sight of her joy.

"Thank you, Falco. I sit with you during the movie?" The female avian asked without thinking, feeling the familiar blanket of fear lowering on her mind as she saw Falco tense.

The blue falcon seemed to be debating with himself, judging by his conflicting thoughts. Rykah breathed a mental sigh of relief as he relaxed and shrugged, "Sure, I guess you've deserved it."

The pair walked the short distance to the command room and discovered that for once, they weren't the last to arrive. Peppy wasn't there, and neither was Fox. Krystal and Slippy had already claimed their spots on the floor with pillows and thin blankets.

Rykah left Falco's side to go choose the movie with Krystal. While he was alone, he realized he had forgotten his own pillow and blanket. Falco hurried back to his room and dug the necessary movie-watching items out from his closet. It was just a large gray pillow and a green blanket, but it really wasn't movie night without them. Plus, why would he want to sit on the hard floor for two hours?

When he got back, the rest of the team had already arrived. They were all in their nightwear, as well. In the time it took him to get his things, Krystal had given Rykah a change of clothes. She was now wearing a white tank top that looked slightly too big for her, but he just figured that was because of her body's current state. She had long, gray flannel pants that almost covered her talons. Falco noticed for the first time that the scales on her legs were red, like the patches around her eyes.

The orange avian came to sit by Falco and she dragged a large, light blue pillow behind her. As she settled herself beside him, he naturally queried, "Which movie are we watching?"

"Narnia, Krystal said it is her favourite." Rykah replied and looked longingly at the blanket that the falcon beside her was unfolding. He didn't blame her, the constant air-conditioning within the ship did make it chillier, but he had adapted to it long ago. Falco wordlessly handed her a corner of the fabric and she gladly tucked it around herself.

Krystal slipped the disc into a slot in the control panel at the front of the ship, and then pressed some buttons to change the settings on the holo-table, where it was going to be played. The result was a wider picture and better quality than normal holographic messages. She hurried back over to Fox, who had brought snacks and cans of pop. During the commercials preceding the movie, cans of pop were rolled across the floor to their designated consumers and the small bags of pretzels and popcorn were thrown across the room.

Falco asked for two cans and two bags of pretzels, so when Fox had fulfilled his order, he handed a can and a bag to Rykah. She opened the pretzel bag easily, but the can gave her more of a challenge. After staring at the top for a few seconds, she lifted the tiny hatch with the hook of her beak. Rykah glanced at Falco and asked expectantly, "Yes?" He was watching her with an expression that conveyed both confusion and fascination.

"Ever thought of using your fingers?" The blue falcon inquired sarcastically as he opened his own can with said body parts.

Rykah shrugged and replied simply, "Beak is better." She sat back against the wall and sipped the soda from the can, smiling at the taste and the bubbly feel on her tongue.

Falco shook his head and turned his attention to the movie. He had watched it before, as the Star Fox Team hadn't acquired many newer movies during his absence. The characters were all part of a family of rabbits that somehow discovered this magical world beyond an old closet, which in this movie, was called a wardrobe. There they discovered their mission was to vanquish a manipulative, evil arctic wolf of a queen who had turned the land of Narnia into a snowy wasteland.

What the blue avian found most intriguing, even after all the times he had watched the movie, was that some characters were hybrids with creatures called 'humans'. He had never seen one, but apparently they also walked on two legs, had no fur or feathers, and they didn't seem adapted to any particular environment. The animators in the film had made creatures like centaurs, which were hybrids of a human and a horse, fawns, which were hybrids of humans and goats, and so forth. He was also continually fascinated at the primitive ways of fighting in the movie. They fought on the ground, with swords and arrows. Some animals could fly, but most didn't. There were no blasters, airships, or bazookas. The characters just hacked each other to pieces, and some were even _riding_ horses! No horse Falco ever saw or knew would allow themselves to be ridden like some sort of beast. It was undignified and ridiculous. A lot of horses, donkeys, zebras, and the like preferred to travel on all-fours, given their hoof-like hands and feet, but at the same time, equally as many walked on two legs.

Near the end of the movie, Falco felt his eyelids start to droop. He managed to stay awake until the credits started rolling, and by that time he noticed a weight on his shoulder. He glanced over and almost gave a start when he discovered Rykah had curled up next to him and had rested her head against his shoulder, sleeping soundly. Falco had no idea when she had fallen asleep, but he wasn't sure if he should wake her. The blue avian looked over at Fox and Krystal for help, and they were both still awake. The pair noticed his predicament and both smiled knowingly. Falco, in turn, scowled at them.

"_Her room is around the corner from mine, just turn left and keep walking. It'll be on the right." _Falco heard Krystal's voice in his head, and then wondered how in the world that was supposed to help him get Rykah's head off his shoulder without waking her.

Falco rolled his eyes, and then looked back at Rykah. Her face was serene, and he bet that this was the most comfort she had experienced in months. He didn't have the heart to ruin it for her, so he let himself do what he thought he should, without his pride's consent.

The blue avian gently picked Rykah up, along with the blanket, and used the directions Krystal had given him to reach Rykah's room. He set her down on the bed and rearranged the blanket so it was tucked snugly around her thin body. The blue avian hadn't the slightest clue as to why he was doing this, and in any other circumstances he wouldn't, but it just felt like he should.

The dim light from the hallway illuminated the tiny room enough so Falco didn't stumble into anything, but it also gave a soft glow to the orange falcon's tranquil face. Falco found himself reaching out to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers, but immediately pulled his hand away before even the tip of a feather could touch her.

He vigorously shook his head and headed out, beating himself up mentally because he had allowed himself to go soft this fast. The blue falcon resolved that he had to get Rykah out of his mind if he didn't want to end up with his Arwing, as well as himself, blown up should danger arise on a moment's notice. _"Keep focused, loverboy" _Falco growled at himself as he crawled into his own bed for the night.


	4. Nightmares of Reality

**A/N: Sorry for the super long wait! Writer's Block and travelling aren't the best combination. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Rykah awoke from her dreamless sleep with a small smile. The blanket that was covering her held Falco's scent quite well, but that wasn't what made her smile. It was the fact that she knew said avian had carried her to her room with almost no prompting and with completely calm, tender thoughts. Despite his rude behaviour, he could be quite romantic. Rykah sighed dreamily at the memory of his strong arms around her, and wished she could feel them again.

The orange falcon pushed her school-girlish thoughts to the back of her mind and decided it was time to get dressed and wash up for breakfast. It was then she realized that she had nothing but the pyjamas from last night and Krystal's blue dress, so she opted just to stay in her pyjamas for now. Rykah reluctantly crawled out from under the green blanket and folded it up so she could give it back to Falco. Then she crossed the hall and turned the shower on.

When she finished washing and dressing herself, the flame-coloured falcon took a long look at herself in the bedroom mirror. Krystal's normally fitted, white tank top hung a bit loosely around her emaciated torso and shoulders, but her starved body would eventually fill out with the proper nutrition and care. Her orange feathers had a little more lustre to them now that they were routinely cleaned. She had been surprised that no one had shied away from her or looked upon her with pity, especially Falco. A doubt crossed her mind that he might just like her because he felt sorry for her, but she quickly banished the thought. Someone as brave and outspoken as Falco wouldn't be that shallow.

Rykah let a drawn-out sigh escape her mouth as she sat up from her bed. She stepped out into the hallway and tried to remember the way to the command room. It wasn't hard, as you only needed to turn one corner and walk straight, but at the same time every corridor was made of identical metal. It was easy to get lost, especially if you wanted to get to father places like the training room or hangar. The metallic halls were devoid of life except for herself, so she assumed that either everyone was in the command room or still asleep. When Rykah reached the door to the command room, she stepped inside to find that only Slippy and Peppy were sitting in their regular chairs. Both smiled as the orange falcon entered.

"Good morning, Rykah. Sleep well?" Peppy greeted politely. Rykah nodded fervently.

"Yes, I had no nightmares. I like the change." The female falcon said with evident relief in her voice.

Slippy cocked his head and set aside the remote he was fiddling with. "You have nightmares? Why?"

Rykah frowned as she explained, "I have nightmares of prison, or my destroyed planet. It keep me awake at night…But since I come here, I don't have many nightmares."

"That's good to hear. Would you like some breakfast?" Slippy offered politely. Rykah nodded, but she didn't see any food anywhere. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around, only to stifle a shriek of surprise. A robot was standing behind her with a bowl of cereal! It was made of some kind of shiny, golden metal; probably brass. It also looked as close to a human as robots could get. The joints of the mechanical man looked well-oiled and didn't make a sound as it extended its arms toward her.

The green amphibian behind Rykah chuckled and introduced the robot, "That's R.O.B, our robot. I made him myself. Cool, eh?"

"Yes, R.O.B is wonderful! He does this all times?" The orange falcon queried as she took the bowl from the robot.

Slippy shrugged. "Yeah, he really picks up on the things happening around him. I don't have to tell him anything. All I do is oil his joints and polish him up when he gets dirty. He can talk, too." He said with pride.

"Are you enjoying your breakfast?" R.O.B asked in his usual monotone, which could only belong to a robot like himself.

Rykah nodded as she spooned some cereal into her mouth. When she finished, she handed the empty bowl back to the yellow robot and he exited the room. "Where is he going?" The female avian queried.

"The kitchen, of course. He's the only robot I've ever known to be partially waterproof. I only made his arms, head, and chest waterproof because that kind of wiring costs a fortune!" Slippy explained with delight. He loved talking about his technological marvels.

Rykah's brow furrowed. She had never heard of a kitchen on the ship. "I did not know there is kitchen. No one tell me. Falco did not show me on tour."

This time Peppy answered. "Nobody on this ship cooks, except Krystal. She only cooks stuff on special occasions, though. Otherwise, we order everything we eat. Can you cook?" He asked in return.

The female falcon frowned and averted her gaze. "I cooked for family…before my planet was destroyed and everyone killed…" She said sadly.

"Oh…I'm sorry. If we asked you to cook, would you be alright with that?" Peppy inquired gently.

Rykah thought for a moment and then slowly nodded her head. "I need to be rid of my fears. Where is kitchen?" She asked with determination in her voice.

Slippy tapped his chin for a moment, as if he had forgotten where the room was. In truth, he used it so infrequently, he only vaguely remembered where it was located. "I think it's past Falco's room, and around the corner of the first hall that branches off on your right." The amphibian said slowly and then added, "What are you going to make? We aren't exactly stocked up on foods to cook with. We really only keep soda, snacks, and the odd bottle of wine in there."

The flame-coloured falcon shrugged and headed out of the room. As she was walking in the direction Slippy had suggested, she ran into Falco as he was stepping out of his room. He appeared as if he had just woken up because he was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with one hand and smoothing his crest with the other. She felt his surprised and slightly flustered thoughts before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Mornin', Rykah. Uhh…How did you sleep?" Falco asked, thinking of nothing else interesting to say.

Rykah smiled as she replied, "I had good sleep because of you. You brought me to my bed so I not sleep on floor."

Falco stopped running his fingers over his crest and his expression faltered for a split second, but he regained his usual uncaring composure. "Yeah, about that. Don't think it means anything; I was just being a little sappy. Don't expect anything else like that from me, okay?" He snapped coldly.

"Your thoughts are different than your words. You hide your feelings from yourself. Why? It is not bad to like me." Rykah said boldly as she narrowed her eyes at the male falcon.

The blue avian's voice dropped to a menacing growl as he stared Rykah in the eye. "Let's get something straight, Rykah. There will _never_ be anything between us. I fly solo and no mind-reading, magic charity case like you is going to change that. Got it?" Falco tried to supress the twinge of regret at Rykah's reaction, but it washed over his mind nevertheless.

The female falcon's blue eyes started to water, and before Falco could apologize, she was already running down the hall. Falco sighed in aggravation and rubbed a hand down his face. He had meant to discourage Rykah, not make her cry. Still, in her fragile state, it was very easy to take things too far. He didn't bother calling after her and stepped into the bathroom to take a shower. When he left the washroom to deposit his pyjamas in his room, he thought he smelled cooking food from down the hall, and wondered what special occasion Krystal was cooking for. He wondered for a second if he had forgotten Fox's birthday again, but shrugged it off. He would find out one way or another, anyway.

Falco shook his head and headed over to the command room. If anything, Slippy and Peppy had to be awake by now, and R.O.B wouldn't hesitate to serve him breakfast. He walked over to the command room, and Slippy's robot gave him his usual bowl of cereal. R.O.B hadn't been there for the past few days because Slippy was fixing his twitchy joints, and he welcomed the fact that he had breakfast given to him. A few minutes later Falco saw Krystal enter the room, followed by Fox. The pair muttered a groggy 'good morning' before Krystal told R.O.B not to get her or Fox breakfast.

"Why don't you want cereal?" Slippy queried with a whine.

"Rykah's making all of us something. I'm actually glad she can cook, I miss having home-made meals." The sapphire vixen giggled at Peppy's scowl.

The old hare crossed his arms over his chest and huffed defensively, "What do you have against take-out? It doesn't take nearly as long to get and you and Rykah are the only ones who can cook!"

Before Krystal could answer, Falco blurted out, "Rykah can cook?"

Slippy nodded. "Yeah, it was a surprise to us, too. She went to resurrect the kitchen and cook us all breakfast. She's so nice! I wonder what she'll make us?" He mused and went back to fiddling with the contraption in his hands. He didn't have to wait long because about five minutes later Rykah entered the room carrying a plate stacked with pancakes in one hand, and six small plates with forks in the other. On top of the stack of plates she balanced a practically unused bottle of chocolate syrup. She served everyone and smiled at their compliments, but it disappeared and she averted her gaze when she got to Falco. He gave her a nod of thanks before she swiftly turned around to go serve Krystal. He would have been a fool to think that the telepathic vixen hadn't noticed Rykah's change in behaviour. When the orange falcon began eating her own food, Krystal glared daggers at Falco.

_What did you do?_ The blue avian heard Krystal growl accusingly in his mind.

_I just told her off a little; it's nothing to worry about. _Falco answered and fully expected the mental hiss that came next.

_Why would you be stupid enough to be unnecessarily harsh to Rykah? Did you listen to nothing I told you yesterday?_ Krystal thought angrily. Her glare never softened.

Falco physically shrugged. _What can I say? I'm easily irritated, and she irritated me. Don't reprimand me for my normal behaviour. _He thought back casually, which made Krystal hiss furiously again.

_I think it's safe to say that you're an oblivious idiot when it comes to women. _The sapphire vixen scoffed and made no more mental remarks. Falco rolled his eyes in her direction and brushed the insult off, focusing once more on his breakfast.

When the meal was finished, R.O.B took everyone's dishes and went to go wash them. That left the team with nothing to do but chat.

"So Peppy, how far away are we from Zoness?" Fox asked conversationally, walking over to the old hare as he studied a digital map on the control panel.

Peppy squinted through his glasses at the small map, and then skimmed his finger across the screen, causing the map to move to the left. "By my calculations, we should be there tomorrow morning. We'll have enough time to repair the engines on the ground instead of on the fly. The ladies can go shopping and we can go to the beach, too." He concluded in his slightly raspy voice.

Krystal grinned as her eyes lit up. "They've rebuilt one of the shopping malls?" She asked hopefully. The gray hare nodded and she turned to Rykah. "We can finally get you some new clothes! We can both go shoe shopping, too!" The orange falcon giggled at Krystal's enthusiasm, since she was usually calm and collected.

"As long as I don't have to go with you again, I'm all for it. Hey Falco, want to get some training exercises done on the Arwings? I haven't flown in days. We might as well polish the old work horses up while we're at it, too." Fox offered and Falco gladly accepted. The pair hurried off in the direction of the hangar.

The trip to the hangar was relatively quiet, but once they were in the safety of the vast room, Fox gave his best friend a disapproving look as he went to fetch the buckets, soap, sponges, and water.

"What?" Falco asked as if confused, but he knew what Fox's problem was all too well.

When the brown vulpine returned a few minutes later he explained, "Krystal told me about your little episode with Rykah this morning. Care to tell me about it?" He picked up a sponge, soaked it in the soapy water, and began washing the wing of his plane.

Falco mimicked him and quipped, "You sound like one of the teachers in the Cornerian Flight Academy, and I'm the student who's in trouble. That's one of the many reasons I left that place, you know. I hated authority. Still do." He fell quiet for a moment and then continued, "I guess Rykah just got on my nerves a little. Struck a chord, you know? She accused me of hiding my feelings for her, like I even had any in the first place. I told her I never liked her, and I never will. Then I insulted her and she ran off crying. After that, Krystal gave me a mental lashing. I'm sure you noticed."

To the falcon's surprise, Fox chuckled bemusedly. "Oh poor, poor Falco. He's in denial and constantly finds himself getting a beating from my girlfriend, mental or physical." He glanced at said avian and immediately stopped laughing. There was something in his eyes that caught his attention. "Wait…You feel guilty about it, don't you? For hurting Rykah's feelings?" Fox determined with a furrowed brow.

Falco didn't answer immediately, but when he did, his voice was gentle and honest. "I don't know what to think about her. It's like, I care about her, but at the same time I don't want to get too attached because she'll leave in four days and I'll never see her again. Plus, I don't want to lose my lone-wolf rep, either. I've spent too many years and refused too many girls to be brought down by this one." He ended with a smirk and his signature cocky tone.

"I understand, but just remember to go easy on Rykah, okay? Not only does she already have it rough, I don't need a divided team. Oh, and don't worry about apologizing to her, Krystal's hearing through my ears and relaying everything to Rykah." He smiled cheekily and dodged the wet sponge that he had anticipated Falco to throw at him.

"You sneaky little weasel," The blue avian shook his head, "I should have known something was up. Is there anything your girlfriend _can't _do?"

Fox shrugged and then chuckled as he thought of something. "She has yet to learn how to sew my ripped jeans." The cringe that followed suggested that Krystal didn't take kindly to that comment.

Falco laughed in amusement and went to go dump the water in his bucket, as did Fox. "I think these old things are clean enough. Let's jet!" He smiled as he hopped into the familiar cockpit. He pressed a button by his left elbow and the glass closed shut over him. He pressed another larger, red one by his right hand and the Arwing hummed to life. Checking that everything was in order, he radioed Slippy to open the hangar door. The gargantuan metal door in front of him slowly slid open as Falco curled his fingers around both the throttle on his left and the joystick in front of him. As soon as the door was open, he noticed a blue and white blur zoom past him and smirked. Fox had beaten him out of the gate, like he always did. Falco pushed the throttle forward as far as it would go and in a few seconds he saw nothing but shining stars on an otherwise black background.

"Don't stray too far, guys. We're in Sector Z territory, and you know what happened last time we were here." Slippy's voice crackled through the cockpit's radio.

Falco glanced around him. He saw the giant, orange nebula in the shape of a "Z" on his left, and debris from destroyed ships or satellites everywhere else. One of the pieces of debris suddenly exploded and he saw Fox's Arwing fly away. "Yeah, yeah we'll be careful. Shut up unless something important comes up, okay?" Falco requested sarcastically as he gave chase. He thought he heard Slippy mutter something unintelligible, but he was too busy keeping Fox in sight to care. He fired a few shots, and the vulpine's Arwing easily dispersed them with an expertly-executed barrel roll.

"Hey, what part of _training exercise_ do you not understand? That means no guns on each other! Slippy's got enough on his plate with repairs at home." Fox warned seriously.

That comment only made Falco chuckle. He stopped as he heard Slippy's voice on his radio. "Thanks Fox! You heard him feathers-for-brains, don't shoot!" His tone echoed smugly on the other end.

"Alright O Girly-Voiced One, maybe I should use you and your precious little robot as a target instead?" The blue avian retorted as he gently pulled the throttle back, as if to do a U-Turn towards The Great Fox.

There was a pause and then Peppy's voice replaced Slippy's. "If you drop one bomb near this cockpit, I'll shoot you down with one of this old girl's cannons myself." The old hare threatened and Falco heard some beeps, which suggested Peppy was bringing The Great Fox's guns online. In fact, he saw the frontal cannons fire a warning shot, and the giant, yellow lasers obliterated a sizable piece of space debris in its path.

Falco's eyes widened and he supressed the urge to gulp in fear. "Okay, you win old man. Just don't point those things at me." He grumbled and continued on his original path. Fox suggested some drills and the falcon felt like he was back in the Academy again. When they had spent a good two or three hours out there, Falco's superior finally called it a day.

The pair docked their Arwings and vaulted themselves out of their respective cockpits. "Well that was the most boring flight I've ever had. If Wolf O'Donnell saw us doing that, he would have thought we had interns!" The blue falcon complained as he straightened his sleeves.

"Yeah, but Wolf O'Donnell lacks precision and discipline. Do you ever wonder why he doesn't stay on your tail for long? It's because he doesn't have as much training as we do; he doesn't know how to anticipate our movements. Don't even get me started on his sad excuses for teammates. Let's get some lunch, I'm starved." Fox smiled tiredly as he shuffled out of the hangar. Falco shrugged and followed.

When they got back to the command room, the pair already smelled the aroma of pizza wafting towards them from the other side of the door. Falco groaned. "I'm sick of pizza, you know that? Why does Peppy always insist we have it? It's like he's got memory loss and he forgets that I hate the stuff now."

"Right, that's only the hundredth time I've heard you complain about pizza. It's either that or nothing at all. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry enough to eat pizza, whether I'm sick of it or not." Fox grumbled in return. Falco knew better than to keep complaining when his best friend was tired. It would more than likely result in a whack upside the head.

The pair stepped into the command room and no sooner had the door slid shut behind him, the blue avian felt a pair of wings fling themselves around his neck. Falco stumbled back a bit from the impact, but kept his balance. He didn't return the hug and sighed in a slightly annoyed tone, "Rykah, what did we say about hugging?"

The female falcon giggled and replied, "I knew you liked me. You just too proud to tell anyone."

"Rykah," Falco resumed gently, "you heard what I said. You're leaving soon to live in Corneria under the government, so there isn't any point in starting anything. That's what I've been trying to tell you all along. I don't want either of us to end up with a broken heart."

Rykah relaxed her grip on Falco's neck, but she didn't completely let him go. Sadness clouded her blue eyes, but the male falcon also saw acceptance in them. "I understand…but you make me happy. I stay until I need to leave." She decided firmly, and Falco embraced her tightly for a few seconds, and then released his hold to go to the holo-table to serve himself lunch.

For the rest of the day, Rykah spent every chance she could with Falco, mainly telling him about herself. He found out she was from a planet called Vaarda, which was destroyed by Andross shortly before he destroyed Cerinia, and in much the same fashion. Any inhabitants of importance on Vaarda were sent to the military base on Macbeth, which was rebuilt not long after the Star Fox Team blew it up the first time. Rykah was now the sole survivor of her planet, like Krystal. The orange falcon also showed Falco more of her magic, which he was continually fascinated by. Not only could she heal, but she could also shoot bolts of green magic that were as effective as lasers, make herself levitate, shield herself, and manipulate objects.

"If you can do all this stuff," The blue avian scoffed as Rykah manipulated a blaster to shoot by itself, "then why couldn't you escape from the base on Macbeth?" They were in the training room, and it was almost bedtime.

Rykah thought for a moment, and the blaster clattered to ground as she broke off the magic. "They made sure I got weak very fast, so I not have strength to use magic. They broke me quickly with whips, beatings, harsh words, and starvation. I tried to use magic and killed two guards, but they doubled the torture when they found out. I still have nightmares about my time there. Do not be surprised if I am screaming in the night." She smiled sadly and yawned.

"Let's call it a day, huh? We're both tired." Falco said as he got up to put the blaster away. Rykah followed him out of the room and down the metallic corridor.

When they arrived at his room, the blue falcon leaned against the doorframe and sighed. "It's going to be different when you leave. I haven't seen another falcon since my days back in the academy. It'll suck not having another one of my species around here for who knows how long." He frowned gloomily, but met Rykah's eyes for a long moment, and then looked away. "Goodnight." Falco stated curtly and a second later the door was shut, leaving Rykah alone in the hall.

The orange avian knew Falco felt worse than he let on, she saw it in his eyes, felt it in his thoughts, and heard it in his voice. She wished she could stay with the team, and a sense of hope flashed across her mind. Maybe the Cornerian Government would allow her to stay? That hope was quickly snuffed out as she reminded herself that she was a refugee, had no skills in combat or technology, and needed flying skills to be able to join a mercenary team like Star Fox. She would just be a burden to the group. The female falcon frowned and crawled into bed with a longing to at least somewhat repay the Star Fox Team for rescuing her, before she left them for good.

* * *

_Falco_

A voice whimpered in Falco's mind, pulling him out of his deep sleep. He blinked his eyes open, but only saw the darkness of his room around him. The voice gradually registered as belonging to Rykah. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His clock claimed it was 3:12 in the morning.

_Falco!_

Rykah's voice sounded more urgent, more afraid. The blue avian began to share in the voice's anxiety, and he knew he had to find the orange falcon. Falco swung his legs over the edge of the bed and half-walked, half-stumbled out of his room. The clicking of his talons on the floor was the only sound in the deathly silent corridors of The Great Fox.

_Falco!_

An ear-splitting scream filled the male falcon's head that stopped him in his tracks and forced him to cover his ears, although he thought the scream was only mental. It then became clear that the shriek wasn't only in his head. It had also sounded from the end of the hall. Through the haze in his sleep-deprived mind, Falco broke into a jog, and then a sprint. He could make out a shape at the end of the long hallway, and Rykah's crying reached his ears. The blue avian slowed down and knelt beside her, too exhausted to formulate the commands in his brain that would tell his body to do something, anything to comfort the distraught falcon.

"Rykah? What are you doing here?" Falco asked sluggishly, his usual rudeness was present even in his tired, hoarse voice.

The female avian flinched as Falco gently placed a hand on her shoulder. The moment he made contact, memories of her torture, fear, and pain bombarded his mind and he quickly withdrew his hand with a jolt. "Wow…I had no idea. Is this what it's like for you every night?" Falco said a bit more coherently. He shook his head to rid it of the horrible images of shackles, whips, and terror. If he knew Rykah had been suffering this much all along, his behaviour would have been the opposite of what it had been thus far.

Rykah nodded and finally picked her head up, where it had been buried in her forearms until now. "Sorry…I did not want to transfer memories. I will not now." She smiled apologetically as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have acted like such an uncaring jerk. That _is_ the way I am all the time, but I can make an exception for a pretty girl like you." The blue avian smirked. Usually he would have kicked himself for a comment like that, but now was definitely not the time to be sarcastic.

Doubt became evident in Rykah's eyes and she frowned. "You think…I am pretty? I am unhealthy, too thin, and my mind is full with shadows. Why am I pretty?" For the first time, she felt self-conscious around the male falcon.

Falco hesitantly placed a wing around Rykah's bony shoulders and pulled her closer to himself. She didn't resist. "It's not your fault you were imprisoned, beaten, and starved, now was it? If you put that aside, what are you left with? Beautiful feathers, an intelligent, caring personality, and an ability to use magic that very few others have, to name a few. They can't take those away from you." Falco said confidently, and he heard Rykah's soft, blissful crooning in response. She wound her arms around his neck and he instinctively picked her up, much to her surprise.

"Where are we going?" The orange falcon questioned with a yawn. Her sleepiness finally caught up with her, now that her mind was calmed down.

"Back to your room, where do you think we're going? I can't let you sleep out in the hall where it's cold. Plus, metal walls aren't very comfortable. Fox would freak out if he knew I left you out here." The blue avian scoffed, his sarcasm returning to his tone. Rykah yawned again and settled her head against his shoulder.

They arrived at Rykah's room and Falco carefully set her down on her bed. He tucked the blanket around her body and made to leave, but she held him back by grasping his hand. "Stay…" She protested his leaving in a barely audible voice.

Falco smiled at her childlike request. "I can't. It would only make things harder." He declined in a tired tone. He also didn't want to deal with Katt should she find all this out later. It would mean the doom of his dignity as a guy as he knew it.

"Stay." Rykah repeated in a more pleading voice. It finally dawned on Falco that this whole episode would repeat itself if he didn't provide comfort and a sense of security for the already frightened and scarred falcon.

The blue avian stood there for a moment, and then finally gave in. In the back of his mind, he doubted he could have made it back to his room without his foggy mind getting him lost, anyway. Falco settled himself beside Rykah, who immediately nestled herself comfortably against his body. He draped a wing around her shoulders to keep her there and rested his beak on the top of her head. "I'll stay, but don't tell anyone about this or else." He threatened unconvincingly as he closed his eyes and drifted back to unconsciousness.

Rykah merely nodded and smiled as she inhaled Falco's scent with each breath, returning to her own world of dreams, not nightmares.

**A/N: Liked it? Hated it? Leave a review, they make my day! I appreciate every one of them! **


	5. Enter Star Wolf

**A/N: I know, it's taken FOREVER to upload this! I think you can guess who is making their debut in this chapter. Where there's Star Wolf, there is sure to be some fighting! Get ready for some action, readers. Enjoy!**

Rykah awoke feeling peaceful, a much better alternative to the usual panic and fear like the previous night. She had had the best sleep she could hope for in Falco's arms last night. She savoured the memories; it felt like a pleasant dream more than anything. The orange falcon suddenly got the feeling that something was missing, and quickly realized that Falco wasn't there. Rykah sat up and glanced around her dark room for the blue avian, but he had disappeared. This only added to her notion that it might have all been a dream, but she knew it was real. She frowned and stretched, confused and pondering why Falco might have left. Rykah sniffed the air and discovered that his scent was fresh and that meant he had departed the room recently. Was he embarrassed that he had to spend the night with her? Did he not care enough to be there when she woke up? She didn't know.

The flame-coloured falcon shook her head and decided a shower was in order. She had to look her best; after all they were spending the day on Zoness. Rykah couldn't wait to go shopping with Krystal; she didn't want to bother the vixen by borrowing her clothes all the time. She was sure Krystal didn't mind, but she wanted clothes of her own and in her own taste. The blue vixen's style was less modest than she would have liked. After Rykah had taken a shower, she headed over to the bridge for breakfast.

As usual, R.O.B served her the food, which happened to be eggs and bacon. The orange avian felt guilty about eating the eggs; she couldn't help but feel a bit cannibalistic. She _was_ a bird, after all. Rykah glanced around and observed that everyone except Fox and Falco were present. Krystal was in her usual spot, and beckoned her over to sit beside her. As Rykah settled herself beside the vixen, she noticed Peppy and Slippy were in their usual chairs, but they were completely silent. It was odd, considering Slippy was such a chatterbox.

"What is wrong, you two? You are quiet." The orange avian spoke up as she finished chewing on a piece of bacon. She briefly wondered about what type of animal it had come from, but then she remembered that on her home planet, she had exactly the same kind of meat. There were also two levels of animals, as well: advanced, ones who could walk and talk, and primitive. Those were the ones used for meat, milk, etc. She wouldn't be surprised if it was the same on all planets.

Slippy glanced up from his plate with a small smile. "Oh, nothing. We're just wondering how to spend our time on the beach. I know this is just a brief stop to refuel and get engine parts, but we haven't had a vacation in a long time. I miss swimming around in the water."

"If you miss swimming so much, why can't you just take a dip in the Blue Marine's tank?" Peppy narrowed his eyes at the amphibian, who crossed his tiny arms defiantly.

"It's not the same," Slippy quipped, "there's no sunshine and sand in there! It's just a boring pool with a submarine sitting in it!"

Rykah listened intently to this conversation. She had no idea what a submarine was, and Falco never showed her. "What is the submarine?" She inquired curiously.

The old hare cocked his head at her. "You mean Falco didn't show you? It's like a ship without wings, and it can only be used underwater. We hardly ever use it, so I guess he forgot about it. Hmm…where is Falco, anyway? He's usually not this late for breakfast."

As if on cue, said blue falcon entered the command room wordlessly. He was wearing his usual black leather jacket and bandana. Rykah and Krystal immediately felt his tense state of mind, but Slippy and Peppy took no notice of his mood. They were used to it by now. Falco took his plate from the yellow robot and sat in Fox's usual chair. Krystal cocked an eyebrow at this bold move and Peppy shook his head slightly.

Slippy also raised an eyebrow, and was the only one to verbally point out Falco's mistake. "Fox is going to kill you when he sees you sitting in that chair." He said seriously. Peppy nodded in agreement. _No one _sat in the leader's place when he was present. The last time Slippy did that just to tick Fox off, he got a black eye. Fox's kind was very territorial, just like Falco's.

"I'd like to see him try." The blue falcon retorted sarcastically. He kicked his feet up on the small computer that was attached to one of the armrests. Slippy gasped in horror.

The green amphibian fumed as he tried to keep his voice calm. "Get your stinking feet off my computer, Falco! Those things aren't footrests!" Peppy had difficulty holding the frog back as he tried to lunge at his disrespectful teammate.

"Bite me." The blue avian stated flatly and tore a piece of his bacon off.

Peppy furrowed his brow and released Slippy once he was sure he wouldn't attack. "What's up with you today, Falco? You usually don't purposely tick people off like this…unless it's Slippy." The gray hare observed. The amphibian in question threw a glare at Peppy, who ignored it.

Falco shrugged. "I dunno, maybe someone's put me in a bad mood today. I thought you knew by now that I like to take my anger out on other people. I gave myself a reality check this morning and decided I was being too nice for the past few days." He glanced at Rykah on the last phrase.

Slippy put the pieces together in his mind and smirked. "I'm glad; you were starting to weird me out." He said sarcastically and turned his head in the direction of the door, since it had been opened. Fox stepped in wearing his formal attire: a beige jacket, white undershirt, and black pants.

"Hey, Fox! After the repairs on Zoness, can we-" The green amphibian started, but got cut off as Fox put a hand up for silence. He was glaring at Falco, and Rykah noticed that his upper lip was twitching.

"I don't know if you noticed, Falco, but you're sitting in the leader's chair. Get out." The brown vulpine demanded. He pinned his ears back, as did Krystal. She didn't like it when Fox was angry. Rykah watched her puffy tail flick from side to side anxiously.

Falco didn't move. The only thing that did was one corner of his mouth, which formed a cocky smirk. "Touchy today, are we? No thanks, I like it here. It's much better than the floor."

"As your superior, I order you off that chair." Fox growled. He flexed his hands to bring attention to his claws. Rykah never knew Fox could lose his cool so fast; he was always level-headed and slow to anger from what she had seen thus far.

The blue avian's smirk widened. "Make me, McCloud." He jeered as he crossed his wings over chest and leaned forward.

"You asked for it, buddy." Fox warned as he leapt forward, grabbed Falco by his collar, and threw him across the room. The falcon didn't even have time to prepare himself before his head hit the edge of the holo-table. He rubbed the back of it, and then managed no more than a squawk as Fox kicked him in the chest. He knew the vulpine wasn't trying to actually hurt him, but this was a little rough for sparring.

Falco retaliated by grabbing Fox's ankle and pushing his leg back, causing him to stumble. Fox caught himself before he could fall, but the distraction enabled his avian teammate land a punch to his shoulder. He could have gone for the face, but reminded himself this wasn't a real fight. Fox grunted, and used the momentum created by his opponent's punch to roundhouse kick him. The blue falcon was instantly winded and crashed into the side of the holo-table again.

As his teammate struggled to regain his breath, Fox lifted Falco by the collar so that he was forced to look at him. "You will never take my father's place again, do you understand me?" The brown vulpine snarled furiously.

"Loud and…clear. Let go…of me, will ya?" The avian coughed in reply. Fox complied and released his friend as he coughed a few more times. He was fond of losing their little tiffs, but to be humiliated in front of Rykah like this… _"Wait, I don't care about her like that anymore. Last night was the final straw. I have to treat her like Peppy and Slippy, or it will be that much harder to let go when she leaves."_ Falco thought as he gritted his teeth. His chest throbbed painfully, and he felt a headache coming on. He lay still for a few more minutes until both subsided. In that time, he heard Fox announce in a calm voice that they would be landing in twenty minutes near Zoness' Supply Depot and Repair Service Centre. Falco was still amazed that Fox could collect himself after a fight so quickly. It always took him a good ten minutes, while it felt like it took Fox about thirty seconds.

The blue avian picked himself up off the floor and dusted his sleeves off, as if there was any dirt on them in the first place. He made to leave the room with what little pride he had left, but hesitated as he heard Rykah's voice from his left.

"You are alright, Falco?" The flame-coloured avian asked in concern. She stood up and gently wrapped her fingers around the upper part of Falco's left wing, but he immediately tensed and she hastily retracted her hand, like he had burned her.

"I'm fine." Falco snapped and stalked off. Rykah understood his sudden bitterness, but that still didn't stop the sting of his acerbic tone. She walked back to her place beside Krystal and the vixen gave her a questioning glance. She explained the events of last night in Cerinian and the sapphire vulpine understood Falco's harshness, as well.

Fox flicked his tail in interest as he directed a question at the two girls. "What are you talking about over there? Does it have to do with Falco's unexplained impudence?"

Krystal turned toward Fox and explained, "Falco spent the night with Rykah because her nightmares kept her awake. Now he thinks he's gone too far because of last night and since Rykah's leaving in two days…" She assumed Fox could figure the rest out.

"He doesn't want to become too attached to her." The brown vulpine finished and added, "What I don't get is why, and no offence to you Rykah, Falco allowed himself to fall for you in the first place. Pretty girls usually don't break his reputation of staying solo."

Rykah smiled and commented, "I am not resistible."

"You mean _ir_resistible. I wouldn't deny you on that, Rykah. We both are." Krystal corrected and returned the smile.

The orange avian giggled and then queried, "We are going to shop today? Can I use your clothes one last time?" Krystal took her hand and led her to her room in response. There, she picked out a red tank top and dark blue shorts for Rykah, and then began to dig deeper in her tiny closet, throwing pieces of clothing out that were in her way. The female falcon had to dodge some of the unintended projectiles.

Rykah cocked her head in confusion. "What are you looking for? I have all that I need right here." She said in Cerinian.

Krystal answered with a question in the same language. "Which colour do you prefer? Light green or white?"

"Umm…Light green, I guess. Why?" Rykah got her question answered as Krystal threw two, small pieces of clothing at her. It looked like lingerie, but a little thicker and much smoother. Plus, she didn't remember underwear having strings. "What is _this_?" The female avian fingered one of the two pieces of clothing in her hands.

Krystal collected all the garments she had strewn around the room in her search for the clothing, and held in her hands the same thing she had thrown Rykah, except in white. "You've never seen a bikini before? We're going to Zoness, aren't we? There will be beaches, swimming, and volleyball. Not to mention hot guys. Now go change, I want to see if it fits." She explained in her native tongue and pointed to the door.

"But…I thought you already had a guy?" Rykah countered as she gathered her borrowed apparel up.

Krystal nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I wasn't talking about me. From what you told me, you're free to attract any guy you want now. Go change, we still have beach stuff to pack!" She ushered her friend out of the room so she could change in the bathroom.

Once she had her new set of clothes on, Krystal gave her a quick visual inspection and a thumbs-up. The avian still had one more question, though. "What's volleyball, anyway? Is that some kind of game?" She asked in Cerinian.

The blue vixen nodded. "Yep, it's played with a hard ball that you throw over a net to the other side. The ball can't touch the ground and you have to use certain movements to hit it. You'll catch on quickly; it's really easy and fun." She smiled in encouragement as she pulled a couple of small, fabric bags out from under her bed. Then she went over to her desk and started sifting through the drawers. She pulled out a bottle of sunscreen, two pairs of sunglasses, and a couple of purses.

"Is there anything you _don't_ have a spare of?" Rykah scoffed incredulously as Krystal packed their bags.

Krystal stopped for a moment to think. "Uhh…No, I don't think so. Anyway, I'll give each of us some money so we can go shopping and buy some food, too. I hear Zoness has amazing corndogs." She stumbled and had to hold on to the bed as The Great Fox suddenly lurched forward. "I think we've landed. Let's go!" She exclaimed excitedly and tossed a packed bag to Rykah. She sifted through her closet one more time and pulled out two beach towels. One had dolphins on it and the other was yellow with orange squares. She gave one to Rykah and they headed out of the room.

As they were walking the female falcon commented in Cerinian, "What a bumpy landing, huh?"

Krystal laughed and replied, "Ha, you try landing a giant, multi-ton starship in a small area!"

The orange avian shrugged and left it at that. She actually had no idea how big The Great Fox was, as she had never seen it from the outside. Once they descended the ramp with the rest of the team, Rykah marveled at the ship's gargantuan size. Krystal pointed to the neck of the starship. "That's about where our rooms are. You've only seen a fraction of this old girl." She giggled in English at her friend's awestruck expression.

"Wow…Have you seen all parts of this ship?" Rykah questioned in the same language.

The sapphire vixen shook her head. "I've only been here for about a month or so. Some parts of the ship are so remote, unused, and damaged with age that they aren't safe. Slippy's working on that, though. Right, Slippy?" She turned her head towards the green amphibian.

Slippy flashed a smile at her as he shouldered his own beach bag. "Yep, I've got the lighting fixed in every part of the ship. Now that just leaves the structural integrity of the walls, the engines, which we're going to get fixed today and…" He trailed off as his mind wandered to all his technological plans for The Great Fox. Rykah noticed that he, along with all of the other team members, had abandoned their usual clothing in favour of T-shirts and shorts, whereas they usually wore shirts, jackets of either leather or denim, and pants. They also had their own beach towels and bags, too.

Fox and Slippy went to the supply depot's counter to work out the repairs and everyone else headed to the beach, which was across the parking lot. Lots of smaller ships, the size of Arwings, were parked in the spaces. All were different shapes and colours, while in the distance were much larger areas for starships like The Great Fox. She wasn't the only one on the lot today, though. There were a few others, but they looked to be in more modern styles. They were sleek, colourful, and sharp, but none could match the magnificence of The Great Fox. She was a ship all her own.

Falco admired some of the smaller ships he, Rykah, Krystal, and Peppy passed by. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. "I think we'll be having company. Guess who's here." He announced condescendingly.

Peppy also halted and squinted in the direction Falco was looking. "Oh no…It looks like Star Wolf came to crash our vacation. Figures, this is the only supply depot for light-years around. I just hope they don't ruin our beach day." He frowned at the row of five identical fighters bearing Star Wolf's insignia amid the tens of other ships.

To make matters worse, Pigma Dengar and Leon Powalski stepped out from behind one of the fighters. The pig and chameleon caught sight of the group just as they resumed walking towards the beach. Falco was glad they didn't follow, or else he was sure there would be a fight. He hated Leon's guts, and he his. Star Wolf and Star Fox had been rivals from Fox's father's days before he died.

The four set their things down in a less-crowded spot on the beach and Rykah picked up a handful of sand, only to let it slip through her feathered fingers. It was warm, copper-coloured, and had the texture of flour. "How did they build beaches and stores so fast? I thought all was destroyed?" She queried as she continued to play with the sand.

"It was," Peppy responded as he laid his towel out, "but we rebuilt it all easily. Everything you see is artificial, except the sand. That's from Titania. As we said before, the water in some parts was cleaned, so you can swim in it. I assume you want to shopping first, though." The old hare smiled as Krystal and Rykah nodded.

"Will you watch our stuff for us, please?" The blue vixen asked politely. Peppy nodded and she and Rykah set their bags beside Peppy's, but took out their purses. "We'll be back in an hour and a half, or so. Holler if there's any trouble from Star Wolf." Her tone turned serious and Peppy mock-saluted her. She giggled and grabbed Rykah's hand, dashing off towards the nearby mall. Only half of it was built, the other half was surrounded by scaffolding. People of various species were coming in and out of the large, glass building.

Rykah was amazed at the number of stores in this mall, and wondered why they even needed to build another half. Surely the three floors they currently had were enough? She shivered as she stepped into the air-conditioned building. Krystal smiled and pointed out her favourite stores. She had never been to this mall before, but that didn't mean she didn't recognize any of the names. She allowed herself to forget her troubles and find comfort in the racks of clothing. Rykah curiously browsed the rack of shorts beside her.

Back at the beach, Peppy and Falco were keeping an eye out for any members of Star Wolf. Once his paranoia subsided somewhat, Falco dug through his bag and found some sunscreen. He removed his shirt and began rubbing some on himself, as Peppy pulled out a newspaper from his own bag. "Can I have some of that, too? I don't have any of my own." The gray hare questioned without looking up.

"No way, this one's only for feathers. Use Krystal's." Falco remarked as he returned his sunscreen to its original place and pulled out a magazine on fighter ships. It was only a few minutes later that he heard some shouting and laughing coming from his right. The blue avian glanced up to see that a game of beach volleyball had been started at one of the nets. He was itching to put his muscles to good use after so much time spent doing nothing, so he went off to join the group. They welcomed him heartily and he joined a team of a purple, female macaw and a male macaw of a deep blue colour. His opponents were a female yellow rabbit, a zebra stallion, and a female leopard. They were having a blast until something hard hit his back, and it turned out to be a volleyball, though not the same one he had just passed to a teammate.

Falco was just about to cuss at whoever threw the ball at him, but stopped himself as he recognized a familiar face. "Hmph; if it isn't Star Wolf. Should've known." He commented condescendingly. Pigma was standing beside Leon, smirking. It was obvious he threw the ball. Falco thought it was odd that they were alone. They usually never left their leader's side.

"So sorry, Falco. Pigma tripped and we didn't recognize you from behind. Can we join your little game?" He asked in his sleazy, yet still somehow elegant, voice.

"Uhh…sure, as long as you don't hit one of us again." The navy macaw answered, clearly not amused by Pigma's way of getting the group's attention. The two new additions set themselves up on each side; Pigma on Falco's and Leon on the opposing side. The game was going fine and Falco didn't think either of the Star Wolf members would be so good at volleyball, especially Pigma. The match went smoothly until Leon almost hit Falco square in the face with a spike.

Fortunately, Falco dodged the spike, but his side didn't win the point. "Watch it, lizard-breath!" The falcon warned. His teammates, except Pigma, all nodded in agreement. Leon shrugged innocently and the game continued. It went on for another ten minutes before Pigma glanced at something on his wrist. A communicator of some sort was clamped around it.

"We gotta go, Leon. Wolf wants us back." The pig informed his teammate. Leon nodded, thanked the group, and the pair headed back towards the parking lot. Falco also excused himself after another round and returned to his towel beside Peppy. He discovered the old hare had fallen asleep, and that Rykah and Krystal had returned from their shopping trip. He also saw Fox and Slippy walking their way, finally done with their business at the repair centre.

Slippy smiled as he laid out his blue and green beach towel. "Good news, guys. The repairs are going to be finished in about an hour, so we can relax for now. Who's up for a swim?" His smile widened as Fox, Rykah, and Krystal raised their hands. Fox and Slippy took off their shirts, since they already had their swimming trunks on, and Krystal and Rykah took off their outer clothes to reveal their bikinis. The four made a mad dash for the water.

Falco stretched himself out on his towel, and put his sunglasses on. He was in no mood for splashing around in the water, no matter how alluring Rykah looked in a bikini. "You're not going swimming?" Peppy queried from his place beside the falcon.

"Do I _look_ like I want to go swimming? I'd rather take a nap." The blue avian snapped in response. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off. When he woke up again about half-an-hour later, he found himself encased in sand! "What the hell, guys?" Falco hissed angrily as he frantically sat up and shook the sand from his feathers. The rest of the team was sniggering quietly at his reaction. It would take _hours_ of preening to get the sand out from his feathers…

"Come now, lighten up Falco! Sand is better than blood, is it not?" A smooth, shady voice sounded from behind him. It didn't belong to any of his team members. Falco turned around and stood up, mimicking the rest of his friends.

Wolf O'Donnell stood smirking, flanked by Leon, Pigma, Andrew and Panther. Falco saw Fox and Krystal's fur bristle slightly, and Slippy, Peppy, and Rykah frowned. "What do _you_ want, Star Wolf? Can't we spend one day at the beach without scum like you bothering us?"

The silver lupine raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. "Falco Lombardi, I am offended! We do not mean to bring trouble, yet you treat us with hostility. We were simply coming by to say hello!" He said charismatically, gesturing to his teammates. He looked past the avian and noticed Rykah standing beside Krystal, brow furrowed in concern. "Well, I don't believe I've met your new team member," He announced as he strode up to Rykah. No one had time to stop him as he took her hand and kissed it, "Wolf O'Donnell, leader of Star Wolf. What a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

As Fox made a move to pull the wolf away from Rykah, the orange falcon quickly retracted her hand and didn't hesitate to slap him across the face with the other. Wolf bit back a viscous growl, and Rykah remained stony. His teammates visibly tensed and waited for a command. Although Wolf wasn't snarling like everyone expected, Rykah could hear a low rumbling coming from his throat. "You'll regret that, wench." He uttered darkly and returned to his original place.

"Why don't you take your injured pride and pathetic cohorts and leave us alone, O'Donnell? We don't want to deal with parasites like you." Fox jeered as he swished his tail, as if taunting his rival.

Andrew tried to lunge at Fox, but he was easily restrained by Panther. "What'd you say, Star Fox?!" He yelled as Wolf pinned his ears back.

"I think he just called us parasites, dear Andrew," The lupine reiterated as his upper lip curled back to reveal sharp, pointed teeth, "we need to remind the Star Fox Team here that parasites can kill. See you later, McCloud." With one last sinister chuckle, he snapped his fingers and strode off with his team following suit.

Slippy fiddled with his thumbs as he said worriedly, "I don't like this, Fox. Wolf's got something up his sleeve."

The brown vulpine nodded. "He wants a fight in the air, as usual. If it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he'll get. We have an hour to prepare ourselves. Let's go check our arsenal while we still have time. Slippy, get R.O.B and make sure all Arwings are in top condition. Falco, Peppy and I will join you. Move out!" He ordered and everyone quickly packed up their things.

Rykah fell in step beside Krystal, who put a supportive arm around her shoulders. "Nice job standing up to Wolf like that. He's the most dangerous and infamous pilot in the Lylat System. You're very brave, and I know he'll think twice about approaching you now."

Rykah hunched her shoulders, now fully comprehending what she had just done. She laughed nervously as she looked away, "Wolf will now be hunting me, yes? He wants revenge?"

Krystal's mouth formed a tight line as she took her arm away. "Wolf is ruthless, but he doesn't dare try to harm girls. When I first met him, it was Panther who tried to make a move on me. I spit in his face." She and Rykah giggled as Krystal tried to imitate Panther's expression.

The rest of the trip was silent until the flame-coloured falcon asked again, "Krystal, what do you do when the guys are fighting?"

The vixen shrugged and replied, "I usually control The Great Fox's guns. I'm a pretty good shot. I also prepare the infirmary, just in case, but we usually don't need it. Want to help me?" Rykah nodded enthusiastically. When the team arrived at their ship, they ascended the ramp and everyone went to their respective stations. Peppy, Slippy, Falco, Fox, and R.O.B went down to the hangar to prepare the Arwings, while Rykah and Krystal stayed on the bridge. The former paced back and forth along the length of the room, trying hard to listen to Krystal as she explained how to shoot and charge The Great Fox's cannons.

"Do I have to kill anyone?" Rykah asked worriedly.

"No, the guns only destroy half the ship if it's a direct hit. If you manage to clip a wing on one of Star Wolf's fighters, that's good enough. Remember, Arwings are blue and Star Wolf's ships are red. Don't hit one of our guys." The sapphire vulpine said seriously. She added, "If you have so much energy, why don't we prepare the infirmary?" Rykah gladly nodded and the pair set off.

There wasn't much to do in the infirmary, but Krystal just took inventory of all their medical supplies and Rykah made the beds and swept. Soon enough, an hour was up and the two girls heard Slippy's voice crackle through the intercom in the wall, "We're lifting off in five minutes, meet at the bridge." Rykah and Krystal finished up the last of their work and headed to the command room, where everyone else was present.

The green amphibian took a quick head count and pressed a few buttons on the control panel. The lights in the room flickered on as the engines hummed to life. "They really did a good job on those engines. I haven't had this quick of a start-up in months!" Slippy commented as The Great Fox jolted forward, indicating they were off the ground. In minutes, they left the atmosphere of Zoness behind and nothing but the blackness of space stretched on for as far as the eye could see. Krystal thought she saw a blue star in the distance, and assumed it was Aquas, the water planet.

The team waited with bated breath, watching the radar on the control panel intently. Ten minutes passed and nothing showed up. Slippy scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Hmm…I wonder if Wolf was just bluffing?"

Suddenly, the sirens blared to life, just as everyone heard a dull boom. The ship shuddered from the impact, sending Peppy and Krystal flying sideways. "What was that?" Slippy asked rhetorically as he searched the control panel for any kind of hint. Only the radar showed five white dots coming from the bottom right-hand corner, the direction of Zoness. He glanced up just as a red and white blur flashed past the cockpit's windows. No one needed to say it: Star Wolf had arrived.

Fox smirked. "Let's rock and roll."


	6. At Any Cost

**A/N: I've been busy…'nuff said. No, this story is not on hiatus! Well, this is the usual warning for battles: there will be violence! ****Enjoy!**

"Alright! Let's kick some Star Wolf ass!" Slippy cheered amid the other whoops of his male team members. Krystal and Rykah were the only ones not smiling. The latter appeared quite uneasy.

The orange falcon nudged Krystal to get her attention. "Why do men enjoy violence? Are they not worried about getting hurt?" She questioned nervously.

Rykah's sapphire friend shrugged. "I suppose it's in the back of their minds, but what's a battle without a little thrill and adrenaline? I don't like dogfights, but I'll fight if I have to. Hold on, I'll go wish the guys good luck." Krystal left Rykah's side and announced her good wishes for her teammates, and then gave Fox a quick peck on the lips before returning to her former position. Rykah noticed the fleeting flash of envy in Falco's eyes as he, Slippy, Peppy, R.O.B, and Fox filed out the door and to the hangar.

Falco hung back a few seconds, long enough for the female falcon to wish him good luck herself, but he didn't acknowledge it. He strode out the door in pursuit of the other pilots. Rykah frowned and joined Krystal, who had stepped over to the control panel. The avian looked out the cockpit window to see the red streaks created by Team Star Wolf's ships race across her field of vision like deadly, merciless lasers. She became lost in thought, thinking about what they were capable of in the air, but was startled from her musings as the intercom buzzed to life.

"We're ready to go, Krystal. Open the hatch." Fox's voice crackled on the other end. The small screen above the intercom showed his real-time image, identifying the speaker.

"Roger that. Be safe out there, and keep the communication channel open." The blue vixen replied as she pressed a button on the control panel by her right hand. Within seconds, blue streaks of light joined the red ones, and yellow lasers filled the gaps between them. Rykah tensed with worry and quickly noticed a pain in her fingers. She was gripping the edge of the control panel so hard her knuckles were white. She relaxed enough so that the pain went away.

Krystal looked at her sympathetically. "They'll be fine. They've fought Star Wolf dozens of times. This one is no different." She said encouragingly, and Rykah relaxed a bit more.

"So this means that the battle is not a big concern? Has anyone ever gotten hurt fighting with Star Wolf?" The orange falcon queried, watching the dogfight intently. Star Fox seemed to have the upper hand; in fact she saw one Arwing reduce a Star Wolf fighter's wing to a smoking stub.

Before Krystal could reply, the tiny screen above the intercom showed Peppy's image. "Take that, you slimy lizard!" The old hare exclaimed triumphantly. His picture was replaced with Leon's.

"If anyone's slimy, it's that frog of yours! I'll turn you into rabbit stew!" The chameleon snarled, and Rykah observed the red ship with the obliterated wing execute a shaky somersault to end up behind the Arwing that could only be Peppy's. The fight ensued until Leon decided to pick a different target. Luckily, Peppy did enough barrel rolls to dispel Leon's shots.

Krystal groaned, diverting her friend's attention from the battle. "Star Wolf is using the same channel as we are? Well, at least it makes things a bit more interesting. Sorry about that interruption, Rykah. No one's ever gotten seriously injured, but Slippy's always the first one to get repairs. He's not as good of a pilot as Fox or Falco." She explained, and then returned to observing the dogfight outside.

"Hey Wolf! I've been wondering, where do you get the money to fix all the damage we do to you scumbags?" Falco chuckled sarcastically on the intercom. Rykah breathed a sigh of relief that he was still flying.

The female falcon noticed Krystal's fur bristle slightly as Wolf laughed sadistically in response. "If we don't kill our enemy, we hold them hostage and raid their mother ship. The Cornerian Government will pay us a handsome sum for you, Team Star Fox."

"Like hell, O'Donnell! You'll be nothing more than ashes when we're done with you!" Falco snapped back. There was silence for a few minutes, and then Krystal gasped. One of Star Wolf's ships had just shot an Arwing's engine. Fortunately the aircraft was still flying, and it only appeared minor.

Slippy's image appeared on the intercom's screen. "Ahh! Panther got me! Get back here, you overgrown cat!" The green amphibian growled determinedly from his cockpit.

"May I remind you, frog, that cats have claws. Don't fret. You'll be scrap metal in a few minutes." Panther purred elegantly as his image replaced Slippy's.

The amphibian didn't reply, but it was evident that one of Star Wolf's jets had difficulty shaking off an Arwing, no matter how many somersaults and U-turns he did. Rykah smiled at Slippy's determination and persistence. In a matter of minutes, it was Panther who ate his words.

"I'm afraid I must relent, my dear friends. You have my regards, Team Star Fox. You have proved to be worthy adversaries once again." The black feline signed off and Rykah saw a red fighter heading for Zoness down below.

Krystal and Rykah heard a feral snarl follow Panther's retreat. "_What?_ You will pay dearly for Panther's defeat, Star Fox! He will have revenge fit for the greatest of warriors!" Wolf O'Donnell vowed. His tone sounded almost bloodthirsty.

"Is there ever going to be a time where we will meet in peace?" Fox wondered ironically as he fired a few lasers at the red ship he knew to be Wolf's.

"Warriors are always destined to meet on the battlefield. It is where we live…and die." The silver lupine responded sinisterly. Rykah felt an uneasy knot form in her stomach. The knot only tightened as Slippy's face appeared on the screen again.

The green amphibian looked disappointed. "I'm sorry, guys! I'm coming in. Blast them to bits for me, alright?"

The female falcon swore she saw Krystal roll her eyes, but she had her face turned downwards, looking for the button that opened the door to the docking bay. R.O.B was waiting to do repairs down there.

Andrew, Andross' nephew, appeared on the screen next. "Ha! That frog is worse than I am!" He chuckled, and even Krystal stifled a giggle. It was hard to be worse than Andrew, who was a lousy pilot at best. The only reason he was on Team Star Wolf was because Andross was his uncle.

"For once in your life, you're right." Pigma Dengar, the senior member of Star Wolf, commented. A few seconds later, his face took on the same expression as Peppy's. "You damned parrot! You'll pay for this later! I'm off before I become space dust!" He whined and his face didn't appear again.

Falco didn't reply to that insult like the girls expected him to, but Rykah guessed he was probably snickering smugly in his cockpit.

"That's two down, three to go! Ready to surrender yet, Wolf? You can't win this." Fox smirked confidently on the intercom's screen. If Team Star Wolf was wise, and they usually weren't, they would have the brains to save themselves hundreds, if not thousands in repairs by flying off right now.

Wolf O'Donnell scoffed at the mere notion of giving up. "I'd rather be burned alive before submitting defeat to _you_, Team Star Fox! I swear on Andross' name, we will never surrender!" He spat vehemently, and that remark seemed to give him an extra boost of determination. Just as Falco shot Andrew down, Wolf blew up Peppy's engines. The old hare was more than ticked off, but he managed to get back to The Great Fox safely.

"Ah, to save the best for last. I've got a bone to pick with you, bird! I'll show what a _true_ warrior can do!" Leon hissed with glee as Krystal saw a red fighter execute a U-turn to pursue Falco's Arwing.

Falco chuckled. "Really? You aren't a good example, Leon." He stated dryly, which irked the chameleon even more than the defeat of his teammates.

"Why you little jabbering budgie! I'll blow that annoying beak of yours off first, and _then_ I'll make that pretty, orange falcon be our servant…with benefits, of course." The pasty green lizard responded darkly.

Wolf joined in with a knowing smile on his scarred face. "I like the way you think, Leon. That sounds more than fair to me!"

"You'd better take that back if you want to live another day, Powalski. I ain't kidding around anymore." Falco uttered in his most menacing tone. Krystal exchanged glances with Rykah, and the two realized that he would undoubtedly go for the kill now instead of rendering Leon's aircraft useless.

Leon replied with a sly smile, "Struck a chord, did I? We've never had a girl on our team, and it would be a refreshing change. Not to mention a quite pleasurable experience. I'm sure you would agree, Falco. Once I turn you into scrap metal, she'll be-"

"Shut the hell up, Leon! If you say one more word about Rykah, I swear I'll blast you until there's nothing left." The blue avian interjected, practically seething.

Fox spoke up to avoid a potential murder. "Easy, Falco. Don't listen to him; he's just trying to rile you up." As much as he wanted Star Wolf gone, they added a bit of thrill to their daily, dull lives. Plus, he didn't think he could actually handle murdering someone in cold blood. Sure the members of Star Wolf were hired assassins, but they weren't that much different if you took away the mutual hate.

Falco didn't answer, but even though they couldn't see him in their limited field of vision, Rykah and Krystal knew he was attacking Leon with everything he had. Rykah felt a mixture of both joy and fear at Falco's reaction. It showed he still cared enough to protect her, but he was also lethal when he wanted to be. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or terrified.

"Well, now that our friends are preoccupied, let the real battle begin. My, how the tables have turned! It will be a pleasure to take you down without your teammates consistently interrupting us. This is how things should be: a warrior fighting his equal. You and I, we are the same. We are destined to meet in battle, yet only one of us will survive." Wolf O'Donnell proclaimed eloquently as he did a somersault to end up behind Fox. The two engaged in a fierce dogfight, more violent than when everyone else was there. It appeared that Wolf was just warming up, but Fox had fought him one-on-one more times than he would like to count. This time shouldn't be much different.

Contrary to what Fox expected, Wolf refused to alter his course to aid Leon, who was having difficulty defending himself from Falco's wrath. Fox was glad the lupine wanted a good fight, but if one of his teammates was having trouble, wasn't it a bit selfish to not help him out? If Leon was Peppy or Slippy, he would get the enemy off their tails without even having to think about his own safety, or who was after him.

Falco was about to deal the final blow to Leon. He could feel the moment inching closer with every second. The chameleon's fighter was missing three of its four wings, and its engine was spewing out black smoke. All he had to do was round the stern of The Great Fox, discharge his bomb, and cease having to worry about Leon threatening Rykah's safety. He briefly wondered why he was reacting so strongly to a bit of battle banter, but he supposed Fox would do the same if Wolf threatened Krystal. That slight moment's hesitation brought upon a result that he never would have imagined.

Blinded by fury, the blue avian had not been keeping track of Fox and Wolf on his radar. He had no idea that the pair of rivals were coming around the opposite side of The Great Fox. Falco had released his bomb at the same time Wolf let go of the bomb he had lined up for Fox. Fortunately, Fox pulled up before any damage could be done to his ship, but he witnessed the whole scene from up above.

Falco's bomb hit Leon at the same time Wolf's explosive collided with the blue avian's Arwing head-on. By a stroke of luck, the now burning wreckage of Falco's aircraft spiraled into the internal runway at the rear of The Great Fox. The doors were still open because Peppy had entered the hangar not long ago. When Krystal felt the jolt of the crash, she immediately shut the outer set of doors to create a breathable air-lock.

Needless to say, Wolf and what was left of Leon's ship escaped since there was no point in continuing the battle. It was a draw, but he promised that they would finish the fight when Team Star Fox was a little less preoccupied. The weary pair returned to the surface of Zoness, like their team members before them.

"Falco! Falco, do you read me?" Fox radioed his best friend. Worry made his voice crack slightly.

Krystal and Rykah waited with baited breath for a reply, but all they could hear was static on Falco's end for one minute, then two. They paid little attention to the flashing warning light on the control panel, telling them there was a fire hazard in the runway area. Rykah and Krystal assumed the worst, and wordlessly decided to head for the docking bay. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them, with Krystal grabbing a fire extinguisher on the way.

Once they reached the hangar, the two observed with relief that Peppy, Slippy, and R.O.B were all helping to gather buckets of water and fire extinguishers. The hangar doors were shut, and thankfully they weren't damaged. Smoke from the flames behind the doors created a light fog inside the hangar, which stung the eyes of everyone inside. The fire was confined to the runway, and Slippy opened the hangar doors with the push of a button on the wall beside them.

The team members braced themselves as the mechanisms on the ceiling slid the doors open to reveal the carnage of the wreckage. Bits of both wings were scattered everywhere, alight like miniature bonfires. The front of Falco's Arwing was unrecognizable, the glass of the cockpit was shattered, and the rest of the mangled aircraft was a flaming heap of twisted metal. The only thing that identified it as an Arwing was the tiny Star Fox insignia on the side of the aircraft. Rykah and the others shielded their faces and covered their mouths from the bright, hot flames and billowing smoke. Fortunately, it didn't look like Falco was inside the cockpit. If he had been, he would surely have been crushed or burned to death. Slippy, Peppy, and R.O.B all worked as a team to put the flames out, while Krystal and Rykah searched the area for Falco.

"Falco! Answer me!" Krystal called out desperately, amid the roaring of flames and hiss of fire extinguishers.

As she expected, she got no reply. Rykah expanded her mind to search for any sign of Falco's thoughts or emotions. She detected a faint pulse of consciousness further down the runway. "He is not around his ship, but farther away." The orange falcon confirmed. Krystal gave her a fleeting smile as they picked their way carefully around the burning wreck. When they were finally behind the totalled aircraft, they could make out a shape about twenty feet away through the thinning smoke. It didn't smell or look like metal. The faint pulse of a mind grew slightly stronger the closer they approached.

"…Falco? Can you hear me?" Rykah asked as she and Krystal knelt beside the unconscious avian.

The pulsing peaked a little at her words, but then it returned to its normal, feeble rhythm. "He can hear us, Krystal." The female falcon smiled a little, but it quickly faded. She and the vulpine gently turned Falco over, since he was lying on his side. The blue avian hissed and whimpered at the movement. It sent a pang through Rykah's heart to see him in so much pain.

Falco's jacket had some holes burned through it that were still smoking, and a few fresh gashes marred his face from the shards of the Arwing's battered cockpit. He had some more minor cuts on his right side, probably from ejecting and being thrown backwards while the burning wreckage tumbled forward. The exterior damage wasn't too major, but Krystal and Rykah could tell that their avian friend had a few broken bones, as well. Both were glad that it wasn't any more serious, such as a broken spine, or internal organ damage by impalement of metal or glass.

"How will we get Falco to the infirmary without hurting him more?" Rykah questioned as she watched said falcon gasp lightly and writhe every now and then. By the way he breathed she guessed he had at least one broken rib.

The sapphire vulpine furrowed her brow in thought. "I think we might have an old stretcher in the infirmary. I'll go ask Slippy. In the meantime, try to figure out which bones Falco has broken." She replied, and dashed off in the direction of the hangar.

Rykah followed her with her eyes and discovered that the flames coming from the wreckage were almost extinguished. What was left couldn't even be salvaged. The orange falcon snapped her attention back to Falco, who had let out a low, agonized moan. She avoided placing a comforting hand on his cheek or shoulder, in case his neck or head was injured. His right hand seemed to be in good condition, so she settled on placing her own hand upon his. "It is alright, you will be healed soon. I will do same for your bones as I did for your wing." The female avian crooned, giving the unconscious falcon's fingers a gentle squeeze. His hand twitched in response, causing her to smile a little.

The tangerine avian scanned Falco's mind, trying to find out the locations of any broken bones or otherwise, by pinpointing the area of his brain that registered pain. Falco's mind was in a haze of unconsciousness, so it was almost impossible to delve as deep as she needed to. Rykah settled on the old-fashioned way. She poked and prodded the areas of Falco's body that she thought were injured. She was right about the broken rib; he hissed when she touched his left side. It was also the same on his right, about the same place where his cuts were. Falco's left shoulder also seemed to be a bit tender, but Rykah doubted anything was broken there. She was relieved to find that there was nothing wrong with his legs, except for a few cuts and what felt like bruises.

With her analysis complete, the female falcon sat back with a heavy sigh. "_Krystal's taking a long time with that stretcher…Poor Falco…What a horrible accident. Could it even be called an accident? I mean, isn't this what Star Wolf wanted? It doesn't seem like they're as bent on killing off Team Star Fox as they say they are. They seem to have the guts to steal and smuggle, but not to end a life." _Rykah thought in Cerinian.

"_What you say is true. Star Wolf doesn't murder for the sake of murdering. It's strange really, because they've committed almost every other imaginable crime. How's Falco doing? What did you find out?"_ Krystal's voice entered the orange avian's mind, and she turned around to see said vulpine striding towards her with a metal board covered in black fabric and various straps.

Rykah frowned, reluctant to recount the male falcon's injuries. "He has at least one broken rib on each side, his left shoulder is painful for him, but is not broken, there are cuts everywhere on his body, and he banged his head badly." She explained, throwing Falco a pitying glance. Krystal nodded and set the stretcher down beside her wounded friend.

"Well, that means we have some bones to heal to make and cuts to clean. Can you hold this poor guy's head steady while I lift him onto the stretcher?" The sapphire vulpine ordered more than asked. Rykah wordlessly did as she was told, and soon they were carrying their injured teammate to the infirmary. While they passed their other team members, Slippy took off his cap at the sight of Falco and bowed his head as Peppy copied him.

Krystal would have laughed, if not for the seriousness of the situation. She shook her head and reminded them, "Falco's not dead, he's just banged up a little. He'll be up and about in a few days."

Slippy didn't know whether to smile or frown, so he merely wore a neutral expression. On the bright side, he would have a break from Falco's constant sarcasm and insults. On the dark side, he was wounded pretty badly. The green amphibian decided to enjoy the reprieve from his friend's bullying, but he still kept in mind the reason for Falco's temporary silence. He went back to clearing debris with Peppy and his robot so that Fox could finally land. He must have been going insane up there in his Arwing, not knowing the state of his friend for so long.

The amphibian unclipped his portable communicator from his belt and radioed Fox. "Fox, this is Slippy. Do you read me?" He spoke into the palm-sized device.

"Slippy! What took so long? How is everything down there? How's Falco?" The reply was immediate, and the brown vulpine's voice sounded more than anxious.

"Whoa, one question at a time, buddy! Everything's okay, we just finished putting out the fire and-" Slippy got cut off by Fox's worried tone.

"-Fire? What fire? Slippy, stop dawdling and tell me what's going on!" He commanded, and it was obvious the team leader was about to go ballistic from stress and anxiety. It sent a shiver of fear down Slippy's spine to hear Fox's usually disciplined and collected voice so distressed and desperate.

The amphibian sighed in slight frustration and resumed his report, "Falco's ship is…well it isn't a ship anymore, Falco's unconscious and is in the infirmary, and we'll have the debris cleared out in a few minutes so you can land. Anything else?" He said quickly enough that he almost became tongue-tied between words.

There was a pause on the other end as Fox processed all the information. When he spoke again, his tone was much calmer, but it was grave and tense. "How bad is he?" Fox asked cautiously, steeling himself for the diagnosis of Falco's wounds.

Slippy scratched his head, trying to remember what he overheard Krystal and Rykah talking about. "Umm…I didn't see him all that well, but from what I've heard, he has a few broken bones, some gashes, and probably a concussion." He answered hastily so the vulpine wouldn't get impatient.

Another silence spanned their conversation, but it was shorter than the last one. "Hmm…Poor guy, but I'm glad it wasn't worse. Is there anything salvageable from Falco's Arwing at _all_?" Fox queried, back to his normal voice. Slippy didn't realize how tense he had become just by listening to his superior's worried voice, and allowed himself to relax.

The frog glanced at what used to be the main body of Falco's ship, which was being moved aside by R.O.B and Peppy to make room for Fox's Arwing. He swiftly came to a conclusion. "No, everything's either crushed, burned, damaged beyond repair or a combination of all three. You know, I usually don't like Falco as much as everyone else, but I really feel sorry for him. Not only is he hurt badly, but he loved that Awring…It was his pride and joy. It can't be replaced either, because they stopped making Arwings around ten years ago…" There was a note of sincere pity in Slippy's tone that didn't go unnoticed by Fox.

"I hear ya. That bird will fly again. I'll make sure of it. Fox, over and out." The vulpine stated curtly, and then the radio went silent for good. Slippy secured the communicator to his belt once more and set to work cleaning up the smaller pieces of metal from the runway. He made sure that there wasn't a piece of shrapnel left that could puncture a wheel, or anything else. Soon enough, Fox was finally able to land.

Once he vaulted out of his Arwing, Fox took one look at the wreck of Falco's ship and his ears and tail drooped. His team members joined him, all wearing frowns, with the exception of R.O.B. Although he couldn't show emotion, even the robot seemed sad at the loss of the precious aircraft. "Wow…when you said it wasn't a ship anymore, you weren't kidding." The Star Fox Team leader directed the comment at Slippy, who sighed sadly. The four solemnly saluted the destroyed Arwing that was never to fly again. They departed the hangar somberly, as if leaving a funeral. Fox, Peppy, Slippy, and R.O.B returned to the bridge, still having not said a word to each other.

Finally, after ten minutes, the brown vulpine couldn't stand the silence anymore. "Can't anyone say something? This silence is driving me mad!" Fox banged the armrest of his chair with his fist, causing everyone else in the room to jump at the sudden noise.

"Waffles." Slippy stated flatly.

"What?" Fox asked. He thought his question had been rhetorical. This was still an odd answer, even for a rhetorical question.

"You told someone to say something." The green amphibian reiterated, "So I said waffles. Plus, I'm hungry." His tone was dismal, but there was still an edge to it.

Fox leaned back his chair. He had no sooner tapped all five fingers on his armrest once when he announced, "I'm going to check on Falco, and then blow off some steam at the firing range. Anyone want to come with me?"

Peppy raised his hand and joined Fox. While they were walking to the infirmary, the old hare spoke up. "You know, maybe we don't have to give up on finding Falco another Arwing." He offered vaguely, piquing the brown vulpine's interest.

"Slippy told me that they don't manufacture Arwings anymore. How could we get another one?" Fox replied skeptically.

Peppy smiled. "I have a friend on Titania that repairs ships, but he also sells used and vintage aircraft. I'm thinking that if we're lucky, we might find a replacement for Falco." He said confidently.

Fox's eyes lit up and he threw one arm around the hare's shoulders to give him an appreciative pat on the back. "You're a genius, Peppy! Falco's going to be so happy!" He exclaimed joyfully and released the old hare as he grunted in pain. "Whoops, sorry. I forgot about your bad back." Peppy's younger friend apologized, but was still beaming.

Peppy shrugged, shaking his head. "It's alright, I'm not _that _old. My back isn't going to break if you touch it." He chuckled jokingly.

The pair arrived at the infirmary and Fox opened the door, bracing himself for the worst. He and Peppy padded into the infirmary room to find Falco lying on one of the beds. Krystal was working feverishly over him, bandaging the cuts on his legs with gauze. Rykah was sitting on a chair beside the bed, resting her head on Falco's right shoulder. She seemed to be asleep.

The sapphire vulpine glanced up when she heard Fox and Peppy come in. She set aside the roll of gauze she was holding and hurried over to them, shooing the pair out with her hands. Fox and Peppy furrowed their brows, but stepped outside the room as she ordered.

"What's wrong? Why can't we see Falco?" Fox hissed quietly. It was obvious that not being allowed to know the condition of his best friend irked him.

Krystal shut the door before she replied, "I know you're concerned, but Falco's fine. Rykah just healed his two broken ribs and the gashes on his side, which took a lot out of her. She must _not _be disturbed. It wouldn't be healthy for her." She sounded like an impatient nurse scolding her patient's visitors.

Fox and Peppy nodded in understanding. "Well, keep us updated. We'll be in the training room if you need us." The latter said as he and Fox turned around and strode off in the opposite direction. Krystal slipped back inside the infirmary and resumed bandaging Falco's legs. She was relieved to find that Rykah hadn't so much as shifted in her sleep.

The blue vixen knew that magic had the same effect on her as it did for Rykah. It took energy, like everything else, and mending broken bones, lacerated muscle and skin was no small feat. She guessed Rykah would be out until at least dinner time. That was in about four hours.

Krystal suddenly got a mischievous idea as she glanced back at her dormant friends, making sure they were still asleep. She tiptoed out of the infirmary and hurried to her own room. She dug through one of her desk's drawers to find a small, silver camera. The sapphire vulpine swiftly returned to the infirmary and snapped a photo of Falco and Rykah sleeping together. Then she silently returned to her bedroom and hid the camera away once more, ensuring no one would find that picture unless she wanted them to. She had a feeling it would come in use later. That or her friends just looked so blissful together that she couldn't help herself.

By evening, Rykah woke up feeling quite rested, but she was disappointed to find that Falco still hadn't woken yet. She ate dinner in the command room, which was composed of teriyaki chicken and rice. Again, the female falcon couldn't help but feel a bit cannibalistic eating bird. After dinner was finished, she and Krystal returned to the infirmary to check on Falco, but nothing needed to be done except change the dressings on his legs. Krystal went to her own room for the night, but Rykah refused to leave Falco's side. The vulpine didn't mind, and turned off the light as she left the room. She shook her head and smiled as she walked to her room. It was a typical act of lovers, not leaving the other in times of need or distress.


	7. Flightless, for Now

**A/N: This was originally going to be the last chapter, but I don't think you would have liked me very much if I left Falco without an Arwing, now would you? Thanks to all my reviewers and readers, enjoy! This chapter contains some spoilers for Star Fox Adventures, for those who haven't played it!**

Numb. That's how everyone seemed to feel the day after the battle with Star Wolf. It was morning, and Rykah awoke to the disappointment of an unconscious Falco. She stretched herself out and rubbed her sore neck, since it had been propped against the blue avian's side the whole night. The clock on the wall claimed it to be 9:34 a.m. The female falcon returned her attention to Falco and tried to read his mind. She sighed in relief that the haze of sleep, not unconsciousness, was there. There was a slight difference to telepaths like her.

Rykah decided it was safe to leave the blue avian alone so she could get some breakfast and check on everyone else. As she got up to leave, the metal door to the infirmary hissed open. Fox smiled tiredly at her, still in his pyjamas. He appeared as if he hadn't gotten a wink's worth of sleep last night. The vulpine glanced about to make sure Krystal wasn't around.

"How's he doing?" Fox queried quietly, motioning his head toward Falco.

The female falcon gave her superior a reassuring smile. "Falco is asleep, but not unconscious. He should be awake soon." She explained, absentmindedly stroking one of Falco's longer wing feathers. Said avian's forewing twitched in response, so she stopped.

The brown vulpine glanced over his best friend to make sure for himself. The dullness in his eyes brightened when he confirmed to himself that Falco's condition was stable. He let out a wide yawn, exposing his incisors.

Rykah giggled and stood up. She placed her hands on Fox's shoulders and gently ushered him out of the room. "You need sleep. Krystal and I will watch Falco." She said and Fox didn't object. Once they were both out of the room, they headed separate ways; Fox to his room and Rykah to the bridge.

As she entered the room, the orange falcon noticed that only Peppy and Krystal were present, picking at the food on their plates. There was a tense feeling in the air. Both of her comrades looked up as she padded inside the room.

"Is Falco doin' okay?" Peppy inquired as he finally shoved some cereal into his mouth. It wasn't his usual chipper 'good morning', but Rykah expected it. Krystal looked as if she didn't even hear the old hare say anything.

Rykah nodded and gave him the same smile she gave Fox. Then she heard Krystal muttering to herself inside her mind, and it wasn't hard to figure out what she was saying. She was beyond furious at Star Wolf for doing something like this. Rykah was angry at them too, but she didn't hold as much of a grudge as her sapphire friend. The tangerine falcon continued listening and discovered that Krystal was not only angry at what Wolf did to Falco, but what the effect of the incident had on Fox. As if she knew that Rykah was listening, and she probably did, she recalled some memories from the previous night. The female avian withdrew her mind at the sheer blow of devastation and sadness thrust forward from Krystal's memories of Fox.

"Fox is alright now. He came to infirmary and saw Falco himself." Rykah told the vulpine vocally. Krystal smiled at her and the awful, depressing memories faded away.

"Thanks…I couldn't take much more of Fox's anxiety. Falco's still out cold, I assume?" Krystal raised an eyebrow, thinking of the only reason why Rykah would have left Falco's side.

The tangerine falcon shrugged. "He is sleeping. I need time for myself, too." Glancing around, she observed that the presence of a certain yellow robot was absent from the room. By now, Slippy's robot would have given her breakfast. "Where is R.O.B?" She wondered aloud, finding his absence unusual.

This time Peppy answered gruffly, "He's down in the hangar with Slippy, repairing the Arwings."

"Oh…I will get breakfast myself, then." Rykah mumbled and headed out of the room, taking a right to go to the kitchen. She found the box of cereal was already out, and so was the milk. It looked like it had been out for a while because it was room temperature. Once she had her bowl, she put the milk back in the fridge so it wouldn't spoil. Rykah leaned against the fridge in a moment of contemplative silence as she spooned the cereal into her mouth. Everything seemed so familiar, like she had lived on this ship for much longer than just four days. She knew that she would have to leave tomorrow, to go get registered as a Cornerian citizen, and spend whatever amount of time to become a permanent resident. Then maybe, if the odds were in her favour, she could come back to join the Star Fox Team for good. That day seemed too far away.

The female avian briefly wondered why Krystal didn't have to go through the same process. She had been with the team for barely a month…and she was in exactly the same situation as her. Was she a citizen of Corneria, or something else? Rykah decided to ask.

"_Hey Krystal, are you a citizen of Corneria?" _The falcon inquired mentally.

It took Krystal a few seconds to reply. _"Yes and no. I haven't spent two years living on the planet, which is the requirement for permanent citizenship, but if you own property there, they think you're living there. That's why I'm with this team, and not on Corneria."_ She explained with a slight cockiness to her tone. It seemed she was proud of finding a loophole in the government's rules.

"_Why do I even need to get citizenship in the first place? Why can't I just stay with you guys?" _Rykah continued in Cerinian. Her mental tone was slightly whiny.

"_Well,"_ the blue vulpine thought back, _"look at this from the perspective of the Cornerian government. You're unregistered in their records, you don't have citizenship of any kind because your planet's been obliterated, and you don't have a bank account, ID number, or anything. They might as well think the Star Fox Team is harbouring a fugitive! Does that answer your question?" _

"_Yes. Thanks, Krystal."_ Rykah responded as she finished her cereal, washed the bowl and spoon, and walked back to the infirmary. She took her place in the chair beside Falco, and waited. She predicted that because he was sleeping, he would wake up any minute. It was another half-hour before anything of interest happened.

Falco's eyebrow twitched as he awoke with a groan. Rykah thought he let out a sigh of annoyance as he turned his head to face her. "I should have expected as much. How long was I out?" He was quite articulate for someone who had just spent twelve hours in a state of deep unconsciousness.

"Almost half of a day. You worried everyone. Are you fine?" The tangerine falcon answered, gauging his expression for any signs of pain.

Falco took his time coming up a reply, letting his brain get up to speed. "Yeah, my legs throb a little, and so do my ribs. Damn, all I remember is a bright flash of light, fire, and then…nothing. Was Fox okay?" It wasn't often that he asked about someone else's welfare, but then again, the events of yesterday were particularly perilous.

Rykah nodded. "I did best I could for your broken ribs, and Krystal bandaged your legs."

The blue avian didn't reply, but she could tell he appreciated the treatment. He changed the subject. "I assume my Arwing is looking pretty bad?" He tone shifted from serious to cautious. He wanted to think it needed some easy repairs, but something told him it needed more than just a replaced wing or engine.

Rykah bit her lip, reluctant to describe the destroyed aircraft. She let out a quiet sigh of relief as Fox returned to the infirmary, looking slightly better after he had taken a short nap. Krystal followed suit, smiling at her now awake comrade. The pair pulled up chairs and Falco rolled his eyes at all the attention he was getting. It wasn't that he didn't like getting attention; it was the fact that he didn't know how to be the centre of attention. It felt awkward, having three pairs of eyes on him.

"Are you feeling well enough to go down to the hangar? I think you should see your Arwing, but I'm warning you, it won't be-"Fox started, but Falco interrupted him.

"I want see it. If I feel up to it, I'll do the repairs myself." The blue falcon stated curtly as he tore off the white sheets covering his body. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, wincing slightly as he did so.

Fox and Krystal exchanged uncertain glances and they got up out of their chairs, as did Rykah. They tensed, prepared to catch Falco if his legs couldn't hold him up. "Take it easy, buddy. Your legs were pretty scratched up." Fox warned as his friend stood up shakily.

Falco stumbled once, but was caught by Krystal before he could fall. After that, he merely took it slow and limped along until they reached the hangar. When the four entered the room, R.O.B and Slippy stopped their work at the sight of Falco. A deathly silence hung in the air as the blue avian set his eyes on the crinkled, bashed-in, charred heap of metal he once called an Arwing. It had been dragged from the runway until it sat just in front of the closed doors that lead to it. Falco glanced at Fox with an immense sorrow in his eyes, as if he had just witnessed the corpse of a dear friend. Then the arrogant, proud falcon bowed his head, and a single tear dripped from the tip of his beak.

Fox placed a consoling hand on his best friend's shoulder and softly told him, "If it makes you feel any better, Peppy knows a guy on Titania who might be able to sell you another Arwing. In the meantime, you can fly mine."

Falco wiped the tears from his eyes and sniffled a few times. "You'd do that for me?" He asked haltingly.

The brown vulpine nodded his head with a reassuring smile. "Anything for my best buddy. I don't think Rykah will mind staying with us for a couple more days while we find another Arwing for you, right Rykah?" Fox raised an eyebrow at the female falcon, who shook her head.

"Rykah…" Falco uttered, as if the name itself was the name of a poison. He wrenched himself out of Fox's grip and turned on her. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't come on this ship, Star Wolf wouldn't have been provoked and destroyed my Arwing!" He took a threatening step towards the tangerine falcon, but Krystal stepped in between them. Rykah backed away from Falco, in the direction of the totalled Arwing. She certainly wasn't going to let him corner her against the wall if he intended to lunge.

"Falco, stop it! It's not her fault; Wolf would have wanted a fight, anyway! Calm down!" Krystal tried to placate him, but he shoved her aside and went for Rykah in his fit of rage. The terrified female falcon continued backing up while the other members of the team attempted to calm Falco. It wasn't until she was backed up against the wreck of Falco's Arwing that the blue avian seemed to snap out of his anger. Rykah felt the jagged metal behind her in case she needed to climb up to escape.

An electric zap reached her ears at the same time an electric current raced up her right wing. With a yelp, Rykah jumped away from the wreck and cradled her forewing. It didn't appear damaged by the electrocution, but it felt numb. She looked at the spot her right hand had just been and noticed a sparking, shredded wire sticking out from between two metal plates. She gave a shudder as the rest of her body tingled.

The orange avian felt Krystal's hand on her shoulder, but her vision was blotched by blue and yellow spots. Rykah vigorously shook her head and her vision focused on the vixen's concerned face, with no more spots. "Are you okay? Sorry about that, Falco's obviously a bit unstable right now. He didn't actually want to hurt you." Krystal's lips formed a tight line, and both looked at the blue avian. He was panting, but appeared calm. He also had an apologetic look on his face.

Rykah was drawing a blank when she looked at male falcon's face. "Falco…? Who…?" She briefly wondered, earning another worried glance from the sapphire vulpine.

"Are you sure you're alright? Here, can you feel this?" Krystal pinched the back of Rykah's hand, and the female avian shook her head. Rykah roughly hit her right shoulder with the palm of her other hand, like one would do with a stubborn television set that refused to show anything but static. Suddenly, her right hand clenched and her forewing sparked. Rykah flexed her previously numb wrist and smiled at the sight of it working again.

Krystal, along with everyone else in the room, had shocked expressions on their faces. They were all staring at her. The blue vixen was pointing a shaky finger at her forewing.

"D-did your wing j-just spark?" Krystal stammered and Rykah self-consciously held her right wing against her chest, as if trying to hide it.

The tangerine falcon nodded slightly. "Yes, but it is nothing to be worried about. I am fine, see?" She rolled her shoulder and clenched her fist repeatedly. The worried looks on everyone's faces seemed to slowly be replaced with relief.

They were about to let the strange incident slide and focus on Falco again, if not for R.O.B's unexpected comment. "Scans indicate metal inside Rykah's right forewing." The robot observed from his place beside Peppy's Arwing.

Fox furrowed his brow. "That's funny, Rykah. You're not a robot too, are you?" He teased lightheartedly, but then grew serious. "Did you have surgery on your wing once? You know, to replace a joint or something?" At Rykah's anxious look, he reassured her, "Wolf had something similar done to his eye. You don't have to be embarrassed about it; people get these kinds of surgeries all the time."

Rykah threw him a relieved smile, took another look at Falco, and then recognition lit up her eyes. It was as if she had never forgotten him in the first place. "You are not going to hurt me?" She queried, looking apprehensively at Falco.

The blue avian shook his head. "Sorry about being mad and all…It's just that I don't know how to control my anger very well. So what about your wing? Did you damage it in an accident or something?" He appeared genuinely curious, as did the rest of the team.

"I suppose you can say that. I have had metal in it for as long as I remember. When are we going to Titania?" Rykah responded as she shifted from one foot to the other. Discussing her body made her uncomfortable. It shouldn't have been because she was much the same as everyone else.

Fox snapped his fingers, as if he had forgotten something and just remembered it. "Right, I'll go tell Peppy to set a course for the planet. To save time, we're going to use warp-speed to get there." He made to jog out of the room, but Slippy's voice stopped him.

"But Fox, why do we have to go warp? That'll use up the rest of our fuel! What's wrong with normal speed?" The amphibian whined as he crossed his stout arms over his chest.

The brown vulpine sighed and turned towards his green friend. "We'll get there faster and we can refuel there, too. Titania isn't under Andross' army's control anymore, you know. It's not like Macbeth, Fichina, or Venom. We can get Falco an Awring and fill up at the same time. Warp-speed, Slippy. That's an order." His voice was firm and serious, as if he were dealing with a disobedient child.

Grumbling, Slippy followed his commander and left R.O.B to continue on repairs. Since there was nothing else to do and the girls didn't know how to do repairs on aircraft, Falco, Rykah, and Krystal departed the hangar to follow Fox and Slippy to the bridge. Falco took his place in his usual corner while the others remained standing. Slippy typed coordinates into the navigation system and then the team felt a jolt as stars began whizzing past them like tiny streaks of light.

"Warp-speed engaged. We should arrive at Titania in about an hour." The green amphibian announced and then strolled over to the rainbow-coloured jukebox. It desperately needed some parts to be replaced, but at least it still played music, with a few thumps of course. He just hadn't gotten to it yet, but it was on his to-do list.

Falco absentmindedly inspected his bandages as he commented to Slippy, "If it will only take an hour to get to Titania using warp-speed, why couldn't we use it to get from Macbeth to the other end of the freakin' Lylat System? Why did we have to spend five days travelling when it could have taken us only one?"

"Because, my technologically uneducated friend," Slippy smirked at Falco's eye roll, "if we went warp-speed, we would have had to stop and refuel three times on either planetary or space supply depots on Zoness, Aquas, and Sector Y. I don't know about you, but Sector Y is still controlled by Andross' army, and there are things in Aquas' waters that could shred this old girl in two. Would either take that risk or spend five days flying _safely_ to Corneria?"

Fox smiled at Slippy's confidence. He usually wasn't somebody to tell people off like that, _especially _people like Falco. The blue falcon huffed and stayed silent, his way of admitting defeat. The frog went back to tinkering with the jukebox.

"Hey, put some tunes on, Slippy. The silence in here is grating on my old ears." Peppy requested as he broswed through his many holographic maps and edited them. While Slippy flipped through the records, Peppy chuckled bemusedly.

Fox looked up from the computer on his armrest and queried, "What? Did Falco change the names of all your locations to Cornerian sports teams again?"

Falco sniggered from his place on the floor. "Even if I had the time, it would've taken too long. Peppy never leaves this room for so much as five minutes anymore after I did _that_."

The old hare sighed exasperatedly at the memory. It had taken him a good two hours to change all the names back, and he still wasn't sure if he had gotten all of them right. "No, I just pulled up the maps for Dinosaur Planet. Want to take a walk down memory lane?"

The Star Fox Team leader leaned back in his chair and nodded. Krystal and Falco also paid attention, too. "I haven't seen the places from that planet yet. Care to fill me in on your latest adventure?" Falco asked as he stood up, albeit with a bit of difficulty.

As Peppy showed the first map, the area appeared quite small. It was a detailed overview, and it was obvious the blue space in the middle was a river. Two paths extended from the north and south ends of the map. "ThornTail Hollow. A quiet little place, inhabited by dinosaurs called ThornTails and a family of EarthWalkers lives there, too. They're the royal family, and their son is a good friend of mine. He helped me out a lot while I was there, but in a more pet-like kind of way. The ShopKeeper was creepy, though. I still don't know if that dinosaur was male or female..." Fox informed the other members. "Pull up Cape Claw, will you Peppy? It was one of my favourites." He requested politely.

Peppy typed in the name on the control panel's keyboard and an overview of a lake-like area showed up on the holographic table. The cape fed a much larger body of water, but it wasn't shown on the screen. "What a beautiful place! It's hard to imagine the whole planet being controlled by that awful General Scales. What did you have to do there?" Krystal inquired as she took in the small beaches and clear waters. Rykah also admired the area, but she noticed something amiss on the north side of the map.

"What is that small, dark place at the top of the map?" The orange avian asked, cocking her head.

Fox squinted and then smirked as he recognized the spot. "That tiny black space? That was the jail cell for the Queen of the CloudRunners, a flying kind of dinosaur. She was captured by General Scales and his cronies took over her fortress. I had to free her by saving her babies from the nasty SharpClaws. Their security system sucks, by the way. It was too easy to get around."

"Hey, I helped you get out of that fortress! Don't forget my SharpClaw disguise!" Slippy remarked from the jukebox. He had stopped attempting to play a song to listen to Fox. He had seen the places from Fox's communicator first-hand, but they weren't very good quality.

Fox waved a hand at his green friend. "Yeah, I know. Haven't I thanked you enough for that already? Show us Krazoa Palace, please. That place has to be my _favourite_." He smirked and winked at Krystal, who was trying hard to hide her smile. She ultimately failed and a wide grin broke out on her face.

"If it wasn't for the perpetual rain, the wounded EarthWalkers, the numerous monsters, _and _the fact that I was trapped for days there waiting for your lazy ass to rescue me, Fox, it would be my favourite place, too." Krystal complained as she placed her hands on her hips to emphasize her dislike for Krazoa Palace. The smile on her face made it hard to think she was being serious.

The brown vulpine chuckled and retorted, "Well how long would it have taken you to collect six spirits, four Spell Stones, and go through every place in between?"

"I would have done it faster than you if I wasn't trapped in that energy-draining crystal. Plus, I would have kept all my Staff Upgrades, since I wouldn't have lost the thing. I didn't need a baby EarthWalker to dig them up for me." The sapphire vulpine said cockily, raising one eyebrow.

Fox pointed an accusing finger at his girlfriend. "Hey, don't bring Tricky into this! He saved me a lot of time and that little guy can find stuff even you would have missed. Plus, he's an official member of this team and I won't have any condescending talk about him."

Krystal scoffed. "You made the Prince of the EarthWalkers a member of Star Fox? Well, if he helped you _that _much in my rescue and the saving of Dinosaur Planet, I guess I can't complain, then. Slippy, would you please put some music on? Play something up-beat; hearing Fox drone on about what I could have done myself is making me depressed." She spun on her heel and went to go sit by Rykah.

"If it weren't for me, you'd still be trapped in that crystal, probably dead, Andross would have taken over the Lylat System again, and the Star Fox Team would be bankrupt." Fox said with finality as Slippy finally got the jukebox working and an old disco song began playing.

As soon as the song started, Rykah covered her head with her ears and moaned in pain. It felt as if someone had just inserted a sparking wire inside her skull and it made her brain throb with a sharp sting. Slippy immediately turned the jukebox off and Rykah sighed with relief. The pain instantly faded away.

"Yeesh! If you didn't like disco, you could have just said so, Rykah." The green amphibian remarked with a frown.

Rykah smiled apologetically at Slippy. "Sorry, I think the pain of the wire came again…I need to sleep, wake me when we are at Titania, alright?" She got up and headed out, leaving her slightly confused and concerned friends behind.

Slippy scratched his head, as if Rykah's reaction reminded him of a forgotten memory. "That's funny, R.O.B used to report a head malfunction every time I turned the jukebox on, before I updated his brain with a new hard drive. Rykah's kind of doing the same thing…"

"You're wacky, Slip. Rykah's not a robot. Maybe she was just expressing her distaste for your music? I know I do." Falco said sarcastically.

The frog frowned at Falco. "If she is, she's got a weird way of expressing it. Oh hey, I see Titania up ahead. Prepare for deceleration and landing, guys. Who's your friend, anyway Peppy? What does he look like?" Slippy changed the subject, finally preferring to shed some light on this mysterious repair and vintage aircraft dealer.

The old hare wore a look of concentration on his face, trying to recall the memories from his aging brain. "His name is Derek, and I know him from way back. Ships, not dogfights, have always been his passion. He's a black and yellow salamander that has a shop near The Colossus Crater. He doesn't have a very popular supply depot, but we'll be able to get a good price for fuel. He makes enough to keep the place running." Peppy explained as the surface of the red, desert planet enlarged with every passing minute. It was obvious that the closer they got, the more impatient Falco became. He couldn't wait to see if this guy had his future Arwing in store.

Meanwhile in Rykah's room, the tangerine falcon plopped herself down on her bed. She buried her face in her feathered hands and rubbed her eyes. Today was definitely not her day. Strange things were happening to her that she would rather keep under wraps. The electrocution could have happened to anyone, but the radio frequency of the jukebox…that was too close for comfort. Rykah inspected her right forewing to ensure that she had no permanent damage, and she found her hand still clenched and unclenched when she wanted, there were no sudden spasms, and nothing felt stiff or detached. Sighing, she checked her other joints and limbs to make sure the electric current hadn't affected them, too. Fortunately, everything was working fine. She didn't know what she would do if something was out of place. It couldn't be fixed without…_ "No,"_ Rykah decided, _"I'd have to do it myself."_ The female falcon stretched herself out and took a short nap until she was jolted awake by the feeling of the huge ship making contact with solid ground.


	8. Scientific Wonder

**A/N: I kind of put this off for a while to brew up some good ideas. As you can see, it takes a long time. Musical theatre doesn't help any, either. Think of this as an early Christmas present (for those who celebrate this holiday). Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter and leave a comment or polite critique to help my writing development! **

Rykah's first impression of Titania was that it was an overwhelming shade of copper. It was also not flat, as she expected. This was probably due to the Colossus Crater's edge being located not far away. The heat blasted her in the face as she and the rest of the Star Fox Team exited the Great Fox via the ramp that extended from the front of the giant ship. About a hundred feet from where they landed stood what looked like an old, beaten-up shack, but it was hard to tell because the heat gave the small structure a hazy, mirage-like quality. When they got closer, they realized the shack was not a shack at all, but a modern-looking store front and a large, hangar-like garage that was composed of multi-coloured, ill-fitting pieces of metal. A wind-worn sign above the shop windows claimed the building to be "Derek's Starship Dealership and Repair". Rykah even spotted the nose of a brand-new, shiny spacecraft jutting out from behind the corner, and there seemed to be many more lined up parallel to it. Before she could walk around to view the rest, the orange falcon noticed an amphibian walk out of the store.

If it weren't for the oil-stained overalls and nametag bearing "Derek", Rykah never would have guessed this salamander owned the place. He looked more like an employee than a manager. His spotted black and yellow arms probably hid the dirt and oil well, the female avian observed, as he strode up and heartily shook Peppy's hand. Derek's flat head split into a smile as he exclaimed in a wheezy voice, "Peppy, old pal, how have you been? I haven't seen you for ages! You still flying that Arwing of yours?" If his voice weren't any indication, the slightly sagging skin around his eyes and lipless mouth hinted of old age; he was definitely Peppy's age, of not a few years older.

The gray hare chuckled and replied, "I'm not much of a pilot anymore, but we still have those Arwings…Actually, that's what we came here to talk to you about. My friend here, Falco-" Peppy got cut off as said falcon cleared his throat loudly to interrupt him.

"To spare you another half-hour of storytelling from this coot, Star Wolf totalled my Arwing and I need a new one. Got anything in stock?" Falco asked curtly, sparing the old salamander of what he knew would be a long-winded story about Star Wolf's attack.

Derek narrowed his snake-like eyes at the blue avian's rudeness. "If that's how you treat your senior team members, the only thing I'll fix you up with is a muzzle that'll fit that beak of yours, boy."

Everyone except Falco and Derek snickered behind theirs hands, impressed that someone could actually handle the falcon's behavior. When the moment passed, Derek stroked his flat chin with padded fingertips, throwing a sceptical look at Falco. "Arwings are the workhorses of the fighter jets…Peppy said your name was Falco?" He questioned, and continued as the male avian nodded, "As I was saying, you could do much better than a standard, out-of-date thing like that. They stopped making them years ago, but…if your heart's set on an Arwing, I can take a peak in the lot out back and see if I still have one. Are you sure-" He was about to say something else, but the stubborn expression on the blue falcon's face made him change his mind. "Hmm…your father must have had an Arwing if you like those things so much…If you didn't inherit one, you'd be crazy not to go for something a little more modern." Derek said more to himself as he turned around and lead the team around the back of the shop.

Fox smirked and spoke up. "Actually, it was my father who bought those Arwings. They work fine, in my opinion." He said proudly, and the salamander stopped and turned around at Fox's unexpected comment.

Derek blinked disbelievingly at the brown vulpine, and then his face broke out into the same lipless smile. "Well, I'll be darned. So sorry I didn't notice you at first lad, but your youth didn't seem to portray the fact that you must be leader of this team. You're James McCloud's son, aren't you?" At Fox's speechlessness, he explained further, "I remember selling a few Arwings to your father back in the day…you look just like him, and he was a regular customer of mine. Can't believe I didn't see the resemblance at first, I thought the Star Fox Team went down after his passing…didn't believe my old eyes when I saw The Great Fox herself landing on my doorstep. What's your name, lad?" He asked in awe as he went to shake the vulpine's hand.

"Fox; it's a pleasure to meet a friend of my father's." The Star Fox Team leader smiled humbly at the old amphibian.

"It's an honour to meet you, young Fox, and you're a friend of Peppy's, no less! Come, I know I have an Arwing around here somewhere…" The salamander said joyfully as he took the lead at the front of the group. "Forgive my rudeness to your feathered friend here; it's obvious I don't get young whippersnappers like you coming here very often. Although, I did do some business with a…a wolf, I think he was…yes, definitely wolf, too much of a brute to be a husky…he came with a team of his some weeks ago. My stars, I've never seen someone so impatient! You'd think he was escaping from prison, that boy! His teammates weren't any better, mind you. Strange lot, they were…about your age, too, Fox. I only hope you'd have time to try the Arwing out before you sign for it and speed off." Derek chuckled, but Fox's brow was furrowed in concern. Slippy, Peppy, and Falco also seemed to tense up.

"Their leader wasn't by any chance Wolf O'Donnell?" Slippy asked tentatively, rubbing his hands together nervously.

Derek thought for a moment, trying to recall the memory in his aging mind. "Yes, I think so…Was he a friend of yours?"

Slippy made a noise that was somewhere between a squeak and a snort. Falco smirked and retorted, "I'd sooner peck out Wolf's good eye than be friends with him!"

The black and yellow salamander ignored Falco's comment and resumed babbling, "Wolf had impeccable taste in fighters; he had obviously done his homework and chose the best ones on the lot for his team. Still can't say where he got all the money…five Antha-Nova 200's cost a fortune…" He trailed off, scanning the colourful ships on either side of him for the elusive Arwing.

Krystal shook her head and whispered to Rykah, "Probably stole all of it. I don't think he ever earned a penny in his life." The female falcon sniggered in response and surveyed the ships around her. Each model was a different shape and colour from the last, and there seemed to be a lot of them. The further down they walked along the rows of ships, the older and shabbier they looked. At last, she spotted the tell-tale white, pointed nose and blue body of an Arwing. It appeared to be in decent condition, but it was clear that some patches of rust were forming on the wings.

"This is the last one I own, and I'm eager to free up the space. How do you like her, Falco? She's not in too bad of a shape, and still flies beautifully." Derek smiled as he and his customers halted in front of the Arwing.

Falco strode up to the fighter and walked around it twice, visually inspecting it like someone would a prize stallion. He looked inside the cockpit window and frowned, "It looks like the inside might need some work, but otherwise it's not bad. Can I take her for a test flight?"

The salamander nodded. "Hold on a second, I'll just get the gadget that controls this thing. Oh, and one more thing," He fixed the blue avian with one of his sceptical, snake-like eyes, "Don't try and fly off with this ship, I can command her to turn around and land at the touch of a button."

Falco raised a disbelieving eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Derek ambled away, leaving the Star Fox Team to themselves. Peppy huffed and crossed his arms. "Never was very trusting, that salamander. I'm not surprised he remotely controls all of his spacecraft." He commented once Derek was out of earshot. Krystal and Slippy half-smiled in agreement and the latter wandered off to ogle a particular four-winged, sleek green fighter jet with unusually large engines.

Rykah, with nothing else to do, followed Slippy's example and motioned for Krystal to follow her. The pair admired all the different spacecraft and threw disgusted looks at the less flashy ones. "These are all much prettier and practical than my old starship. That ugly hunk of junk wouldn't even hold a candle to some of these fighters. Look at this one; doesn't it have an interesting design?" The blue vulpine pointed to the jet in front of her.

The spacecraft in question was a pearly colour, with a pointed nose, a cylindrical body, ending with two small, circular engines at the back. The wings were slanted as far back as possible, giving the impression the spacecraft was made for speed, and not defence. Even the four guns on the wings were particularly thin and small. The cockpit took up about half of the front of the starship, leaving enough room for the rest of the nose. The design along the side of the fighter resembled a long, slithering dragon. Rykah thought she had seen this ship somewhere before, but that was impossible. She had rarely seen a starship during her imprisonment, but the colour struck her as so familiar…

Before she could dwell on the memory, Derek came back with a piece of square metal in his hand with a few black buttons on it. The team gathered around the Arwing once more and the salamander pressed a button on his device, causing the cockpit to open with a slight creak. Falco hopped in with ease and pressed another button to lock the window around him. Derek pressed another couple of buttons, and then gave Falco the thumbs up. The blue avian nodded and pressed the ignition, easing forward the throttle a quarter-way. The Arwing responded with a jolt and crept forward. As soon as the jet was away from the other ships, Falco pushed the throttle forward all the way and speed off into the Titanian sky within seconds. The test flight was going well so far, and he had forgotten how much he loved flying. It was like he had his old Arwing back again.

The out-dated fighter coughed and bucked a few times, but once most of the sand had been blown out, the engines settled down and worked smoothly. The stationary ships on the ground were merely shiny twinkles on the otherwise vast, red landscape of Titania. Satisfied with the way the Arwing was performing, Falco executed a few barrel-rolls, somersaults, and dives to make sure everything was up to snuff. He shot a few rounds out of the guns on the wings, not impressed with the slow reloading time. As he pulled out of his third dive, the blue avian spotted something odd in the distance. It seemed as if a black speck was speeding towards him, becoming larger with every passing second. Falco paid little attention to it, assuming it was just an incoming customer, but kept an eye on it to make sure he wouldn't crash into it. Soon after the first black speck appeared, two more followed without any intention of avoiding him. When the newcomers streaked past him, Falco had to dive down and barrel roll out of the way, or else he would have been in a head-on collision. He swore loudly at the black spacecrafts' carelessness and executed a U-turn to land in the vicinity of Derek's shop, eager to give the other pilots a piece of his mind should they land.

Sure enough, as Falco parked the Arwing in its original slot, he spotted the three black starships that had almost collided with him off to the side of the shop a short distance away. The pilots didn't appear to have exited their cockpits yet, and the blue avian was in a temper, impatient to insult them for having almost impaled him with their sharp noses.

"How was it? Do you like the Arwing?" Derek questioned eagerly as Falco walked over to the salamander.

"Yeah, she flies and responds great…engines are a bit clogged up, but that's easily fixed." The male falcon said half-heartedly, staring in the direction of the black starships. It appeared that the pilots were finally hopping out of their cockpits, glancing around as if looking for something.

Derek was about to reply to Falco's comment, but then looked in the same direction as the avian. "Yes, well she's been sitting there for quite a while, I would expect some sand got blown in there. While you think about whether you want to buy her or not, I'll just slip away to deal with those customers over there, they seem a bit confused." The old amphibian frowned and strode briskly towards the black ships.

"So, do you want to buy the Arwing?" Fox asked, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder. The blue falcon stared at the blue and white ship in front of him, weighing the pros and cons. Before he could voice his decision, he and the rest of the team heard shouting from the direction of the mysterious black starships.

"What the hell is going on over there?" Falco muttered as his attention was reluctantly torn from the Arwing. Instead of waiting for an answer, he saw this as an opportunity to go tell the reckless pilots off.

Fox held his friend back, but Falco roughly shrugged his hand off. "That's none of our business, Falco. Leave them alone." The brown vulpine warned firmly, but Falco ignored him.

"I've got a bone to pick with those guys. They nearly killed me by flying so close and so fast." The male falcon hissed through clenched teeth, picking up his pace. Fox relented in his attempt to restrain Falco out of curiosity and merely followed him, motioning for the others to do the same. Slippy and Peppy surveyed the black ships with furrowed brows, while Rykah began to tremble with fear.

The green frog elbowed Peppy and whispered, "Aren't those the ships we were shooting at on Macbeth a while back? A pain in the ass they were; I could barely get a hit on them!"

Peppy didn't know whether to frown or snicker. "Is that because you're a bad shot or because they were actually worthy opponents for once?"

Slippy made a derisive noise and retorted, "You were having trouble with them too, and I saved your neck more than once on that mission!"

The gray hare had to leave it at that; a strangled cry had emitted from Derek's mouth and Peppy looked over at the new pilots to see one of them had lifted the old salamander a good two feet off the ground. As he glanced around, it was clear the tense feeling was mutual with his teammates. Fox and Falco had their hands on their blasters, ready to pull them out if needed, Slippy's lip was curled back in disgust, and Krystal was muttering something to Rykah in Cerinian, which he could not understand.

What he did understand on Rykah's part was quiet, muffled moans of dread. "They're back; they're back…don't let them see me…." she whimpered, as if giving a request to the rest of the team. No one else seemed to hear her except Peppy and Krystal. They were close enough now that they could make out the foreboding, four-winged spacecraft that looked equipped to do some major damage. They looked somewhat like Star Wolf's fighters, except they were slightly larger, had much more armour, two sets of guns on the upper pair of wings, and one set of missile launchers on the lower pair. Suddenly, Peppy felt extremely lucky that he had survived the mission on Macbeth. He glanced behind him again to see that Rykah and Krystal were both heading discreetly towards the shop. The sapphire vixen had already pulled out her own blaster.

"Hey! Put that salamander down, he hasn't done anything wrong!" Fox shouted at the new pilots as they came within earshot. The one holding Derek dropped, or rather _threw_ him on the ground with satisfaction and turned on Fox. The team was finally able to see what species these three pilots were, but even Fox obviously had trouble identifying them. They weren't exactly lizards, but they had scales that were iridescent, and they reminded him of pearls. Their eyes were a striking teal. Their snouts were elongated like an alligator's, but he could tell their bodies were thin and muscled, whereas an alligator's was stout and bulky. They had a row of curved spikes starting from their heads that ended at their long, whip-like tails. Like their ships, they had black, fitted, armoured flight suits designed for combat, and were carrying at least two daggers and an impressive-looking handgun each. Two humps protruded from their backs, which Fox guessed were either wings or weapons, but it was hard to tell because of the flight suit. Two of the larger ones seemed to be males and the third was smaller, probably a female.

"You are Star Fox?" One of the male lizards hissed condescendingly with a thick Macbethian accent, similar to a Siberian Tiger's. He sounded like a brute and looked the part, but his tone was sophisticated like Wolf's, yet more intimidating. Kystal thought he sounded like General Scales, and she suppressed a shudder at the likeness.

"Yeah, and who are you?" Fox demanded with evident dislike. He eyed the strange reptile suspiciously.

Two of the other pilots whipped their tails from side to side, as if offended by his question. The third remained stony and crossed his muscled arms, looking down his long snout at Fox. "We are part of the Macbethian Air Force, Squadron 247. I am Feralt, captain, this is Dominix, my second-in-command," he motioned his head towards the second male lizard, "and this is Nagina." He pointed a clawed finger at the female. "We have come to collect our escaped experiment, RY-92. We know it is here."

Falco looked disbelievingly at the lizards, as if he thought they were crazy. Fox had trouble keeping a composed expression, and Slippy and Peppy both cocked their heads in confusion. "Am I going mental, or did these guys just say they're looking for an escaped science fair project?" Falco snorted, and Slippy and Peppy cracked a smile, despite the seriousness of the situation.

Feralt hissed menacingly, brandishing his gun at the blue avian, who put his hands up in surrender. "Do not insult us, Falco, we may yet decide to kill you after we have RY-92." Nagina and Dominix also pulled out their handguns.

"How do you know my name and _what_ is RY-92?" The male falcon demanded. The three lizards didn't put down their guns.

"RY-92 is quite informative. We know almost everything about your team, your ship, and your route thus far. It was not difficult to follow you here. Unfortunately, RY-92 has evaded recapture and developed emotional attachments to all of you, particularly Falco, and this has interfered with obtaining useful information while it is offline. We have come to take back what is ours, and we will kill you all if we must. RY-92 is far too important to us to leave behind." Feralt explained, but it was still clear that most of the team was still confused.

Falco thought for a moment, and then it dawned on him. "Wait, you're saying _Rykah_ is RY-92? She's some kind of crazy experiment? That's impossible! She's as normal as the rest of us!"

Dominix spoke up. "Is that the name RY-92 has given itself? Quite clever…That is the point of RY-92, to obtain information without being noticed. It is somewhat reluctant to do so when it goes offline, but we don't mind doing it by force." He chuckled sadistically, and Nagina smirked.

"I still don't get what you're talking about. Rykah…RY-92, I guess, is some kind of spy that escaped from your base on Macbeth? How does that explain how she knows Cerinian?" Fox asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Nagina bared her sharp, pointed teeth and spat furiously at Fox, "You filthy murderers _stole_ RY-92 from us!" She extended the humps from her back and they were clearly bat-like wings. Fox finally realized that these lizards were actually dragons. Dragons had a nasty reputation in the Lylat System, but he was convinced that they had all died out. He had no idea that these were the guards he was shooting on Macbeth. He was now even more cautious. Dragons were renowned for their ability to breathe fire, and kill mercilessly.

"Hush, Nagina, they are simple-minded thieves, do not overload their petty brains." Feralt murmured to his comrade, who slightly relaxed her claw on the trigger. He turned to Fox again. "RY-92 was organically born on a planet not far from Cerinia and learned the language there, but when our master Andross destroyed it, we took it with us, genetically and physically modified it to create our perfect espionage unit, which we were to send to Corneria to obtain crucial information. Then you, Star Fox, stole RY-92 and destroyed our operations base! Hylast, a double-faced traitor of ours, along with his gang, wanted to get rid of all the evidence and terminate our other genetic experiments, but I thank you for shooting them and leaving RY-92 online." The male dragon smiled eerily, making Slippy shudder.

Ignoring Feralt's first comment, Fox questioned, "How does that explain Rykah's psychic abilities?" His insides squirmed at the thought that these dragons would kill each other for their own convenience.

Dominix answered this time. "Ever wonder why RY-92 looks so stunning? I'm proud of my work on its exterior. I embedded dragon's wing membrane along her outer skin, which is highly receptive to the brainwaves of others, like an antennae. It makes communicating across long distances quite easy, and I hear one of your team members is clairvoyant. Dragon wing membrane also makes for quite a lustrous appearance. It gives RY-92 very shiny feathers, and if I'm not mistaken, that is a trait your kind find desirable, falcon?" He raised a scaly eyebrow at Falco, who scowled at him. He said nothing.

"If you are finished asking questions, we will ask you one: where is RY-92?" Feralt hissed impatiently, but it was not any Star Fox Team members who answered. Nagina, who had unfurled her wings, inexplicably snapped her head to glare at the shop a small distance away. Derek, who was too scared to move from his place on the ground, whimpered because he thought she was going to choke him again like Feralt did.

"Stupid vixen…she knows nothing of dragons. I can read her psychic messages to RY-92 from here. Come, let us collect our experiment and cease wasting time here." Nagina snapped tersely and the other two dragons made to follow her.

Fox pinned his ears back and snarled defensively, "Krystal is not stupid! We're not letting you take Rykah, she's on our side now! You over-grown reptiles are sick for what you do for your own gain!"

Nagina, Feralt, and Dominix stopped in their tracks and Feralt looked over his shoulder at Fox. "Do not confuse us with our grounded, pathetic brethren...or distant cousins." He threw a condescending look at Derek, his nostrils smoking. "We are much more powerful, and much deadlier." He unfurled his own wings, as did Dominix. "Restrain them, they have annoyed me enough." He drawled as if the Star Fox Team members were nothing more than persistent, irritating children.

Fox suddenly screamed in agony as his head exploded with pain. He fell to his knees, and judging by the other moans of pain, the dragons had done the same to the others. It seemed that dragons could not only read minds, but attack with them, too. He was almost blinded with pain, feeling as if his head was splitting open. He could barely see what was happening at the store…

He could only make out blurred shapes, but he registered the black and white blurs that were the dragons drag a blue shape, Krystal, and an orange shape, Rykah, out of the store with ease. The pair were kicking and screaming, and the shapes were coming closer. It didn't seem that Krystal or Rykah were affected by the dragons' mental attack, though. In fact, it appeared as if they were fighting against it. The pain slightly ebbed away from Fox's mind as the dragons focused on their mental battle with Krystal and Rykah. He saw the fierce looks of concentration on Feralt, Nagina, and Dominix's faces as his eyes focused once again. They were fighting back with just as much determination, but their strength appeared to be waning. The pair was overpowering them.

Suddenly, Dominix, who was holding Rykah, went wide-eyed and collapsed, as did Nagina and Feralt. Krystal stumbled onto all-fours and yelled, "Fly, Rykah! They'll wake up soon! Fly!"

Rykah raced past the other Star Fox Team members, who were just beginning to recover from the mental attack. She didn't spare them a second glance and hopped into one of the dragons' black starships. In a matter of seconds, the fighter was airborne and she was gone. Krystal shook the shoulders of each of her team members to rouse them out of their stupor. "Get up, get up! We have to leave, _now_!"

"Where'd Rykah go?" Falco mumbled as he got to his feet.

As Krystal helped Peppy up, she answered hastily, "I'll explain later. We don't want to be here when three angry dragons wake up and burn us to a crisp." Finally understanding the urgency, the rest of the Star Fox Team made a beeline for the Great Fox. It took about two minutes to get the giant starship airborne, but once it did everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"_That_ was scarier than Star Wolf with rocket launchers." Fox panted as Derek's shop got smaller the higher they flew. Soon they were outside of Titania's atmosphere.

Krystal had the bridge of her nose pinched between her thumb and forefinger. "I completely forgot that dragons were psychic. I blew our cover; I'm such an idiot…"

Falco scoffed, drawing her attention to him. "We all are; we were all fooled by Rykah…RY-92. Why didn't she…it tell us?" He found it strange to refer to Rykah as an object; she had seemed too genuine to be an experiment. He wasn't sure what to believe.

Slippy rolled his eyes at this comment, "Well if you were in her shoes, would you want everyone to know you're the product of a twisted experiment? She was finally free to live a normal life for a while, even if she's not fully organic. Gosh, I don't even know if she's mechanical or not…it's just so weird to think about her that way. But she does bruise and has blood in her, so I guess she's not all machine." He fell silent, unsure of how to continue.

"I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it. What worries me the most is that she was meant to be a spy. Those Macbethian dragons know everything about our crew and our ship thanks to her. Now I know what all her nightmares were…they were forcefully extracting information from her, but she was refusing to give it up…" Falco said quietly from his corner on the bridge.

Fox sighed heavily. He opened the armrest on his chair and began typing on the small computer that emerged from it. After a minute of staring at it, he confirmed, "I see nothing on the ship's radar, so the dragons aren't following us, but neither is Rykah in our vicinity. Where do you think she went?"

A short silence was his response. Then Peppy cleared his throat and suggested, "She could have gone to Katina. It's the only place I can think of that's solid and liberated by us and Bill's company. She can't have gone to Fichina, it's still occupied by Wolf and his cronies. They've set up a base there and it's hard enough getting them to move without losing half the fleet."

"Does Rykah know it's not safe on Fichina?" Slippy asked uncertainly, seeing the worry on his comrade's faces.

Krystal shrugged. "Once she finds out it's not safe, she'll be smart enough to high-tail it out of there. What are we going to do in the meantime?" She asked the question that had been on everyone's mind.

"We wait." Fox stated, keeping an eye on the radar in front of him.


End file.
